This St. Joseph Convent School student sustained stab wounds while she was being robbed of her cell phone recently.
District Three Education Officer Francella Laurencine has said there have been no further reports of robberies against students in the area since the last incident.
Laurencine told St Lucia News Online (SNO) in an interview yesterday (June 25) that security has been beefed up within the district as promised by Education Minister Dr. Robert Lewis.
A St. Joseph’s Convent student was previously robbed of her cell phone and stabbed by a young man after school.
Laurencine told SNO that following that incident an emergency meeting was called to discuss the issue. She along with principals from all of the primary and secondary schools within the district and two police units were part of the discussions. The Marchand Police Station gave its full support. Since then, security in the area, she said, has increased and the increased police presence is making it hard for bandits to lurk around.
Patrols are being done between the hours of 2:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. daily.
“It is not only between 2:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. Yes, some of the schools in the district dismiss around 2:30 p.m. to 2:35 p.m. and there is also one that dismisses at 3 p.m., but between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. that is not the only time that they are leaving their school compound to go home,” she explained.
Laurencine said principals have said that students now feel safer with the increased police presence and are no longer restricted from using their phones if they need to after school.
Asked whether the patrols will be temporary or permanent, Laurencine said the schools and district education office had requested that the heightened security continues on long-term.
“We did speak about consistency in the patrols being conducted, because if there is any stop, then there will be an opportunity for those persons to come back,” the official told SNO.