Motions

WHEREAS Trinidad and Tobago has ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which affirms the right of every child to an education in an environment that is safe, inclusive, and conducive to learning;

AND WHEREAS the Government deployed armed police officers in fifty schools across Trinidad and Tobago as a measure to curb incidents of school violence;

AND WHEREAS the said deployment has not been accompanied by public sensitisation to provide specific details of the role and authority of the armed police officers within schools, the selection and training processes used to adequately choose and prepare police officers for this role, the criteria by which schools were selected for the initiative, the implementation strategy, nor the initiative’s key performance indicators;

AND WHEREAS the initiative has not been linked with increased measures to address the root causes of school violence and transform student behaviour, such as psychosocial services, student counselling, family intervention programmes, restorative practitioners or other preventative initiatives;

AND WHEREAS the sensitisation, training and involvement of teachers, school safety officials, school administrators, student support services officials and parents are essential components in creating a safe and disciplined school environment;

BE IT RESOLVED that this House call on the Government to clearly outline the details of its policy on the use of armed police officers in schools, including the role and authority of the officers, and the criteria by which schools have been chosen; and to indicate the key performance indicators of the initiative, with associated timelines.

(By the Member for St. Ann’s East)