Police announced on Tuesday that they seized various weapons from students at three Grand Bahama high schools between September and December.
Police said those schools were Jack Hayward, St. George’s and Eight Mile Rock High.
Inspector Robert Higgs, who is also the officer in charge of school policing, had the cache on display in the principal’s office at the Jack Hayward High School.
Mr. Higgs said it is not fair to teachers to work at schools where students are carrying weapons.
“Schools can now be [classified] as a hostile environment,” he said. “In fact, teachers now have their hands full. So it’s our job basically to prevent stuff like this from happening.
“It’s not fair for teachers to be working in these environments where persons who come to school rather than learn, use violence as a way to vent their frustrations.”
The weapons included knives, screwdrivers, scissors, baseball bats, and a plastic firearm.
But police also seized gambling paraphernalia, a water bottle with Barcardi mixed with Ginger ale soda, and even what appeared to be makeshift spears, where students inserted sharp objects into broken desk legs.
Mr. Higgs said one 8th grader hid a knife next to a garbage bin and apparently planned to retrieve it later.
He said parents can help make schools safer places by doing their part.
“We would like to send a strong message to parents,” Mr. Higgs said.
“They need to do some home checks as well. You can’t leave everything to the teachers, to the principals and whomever else. Ensure that those youngsters are not bringing weapons to school. From time to time, make your own checks and check those bedrooms to see what your own kids are up to.”
Jack Hayward principal, Benjamin Stubbs, said he receives help from concerned bus drivers, but parents need to step in and do more.
“These knives and other objects are not to be in schools and we have made an effort to keep these things away from students, particularly the boys. They believe that this is the way you settle your differences, but we want to teach them this is not the answer. This is jail work; trouble,” Mr. Stubbs said.
Principal of St. Georges, Kenneth Romer, said he has adopted a “zero tolerance zone” at his school and he said students who bring weapons to the school would face serious consequences.
“Schools are places where a student comes to learn and a teacher comes to teach. Any person who takes away from that mission, any person who seeks to hamper the smooth education process is an enemy to schools,” Mr. Romer said.
“My view is someone who brings onto our school campus weapons to cause injury or panic or chaos, frankly should not be allowed to continue as part of the school. Schools ought to be zero tolerance zones. We don’t need anyone to deter us.”
Mr. Higgs hopes that there will be fewer weapons in schools in the new year.
He said that although the school policing initiative has not been officially launched, the police force has placed two officers in each of the high schools.
“What we’ve been doing is going into the classrooms to introduce the youngsters to aspects of the law and the result of what happens when you break the law,” Mr. Higgs said.
“Come next term, it’s our intent to enforce the law to the maximum for persons who want to come into the school environment and bring weapons of any sort. They will be dealt with in accordance with the law and it is our desire to bring those persons to justice.”
According to Inspector Higgs, some students were charged in court for bringing in those confiscated weapons.
Mr. Stubbs also confirmed that some students were suspended from school after the seizures.
Both school principals said they have also been conducting random bag checks in an effort to deter students from bringing weapons to school.
By: Courtnee Romer, The Bahama Journal
