Chairman of the Caribbean Association of Security Professionals, Oral Reid, gave several security recommendations during the Barbados Union of Teachers’ (BUT) ‘The Time is Now: The Violence Must Stop’ meeting at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology on Tuesday.
One regional security professional is of the view that one security guard is not enough in the school environment.
Chairman of the Caribbean Association of Security Professionals, Oral Reid, made this recommendation during “The Time is Now: The Violence Must Stop” meeting at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Institute of Technology on Tuesday. This event was hosted by President of the Barbados Union of Teachers (BUT), Sean Spencer, and his executive committee.
He said under ideal circumstances there should be three security officers, or a minimum of two, noting that there should be someone controlling the entrance to the facility and one who is patrolling and giving support to teachers or students who need assistance.
Reid is also concerned about the lack of fencing at schools and the high probability of persons coming into the school and engaging both teachers and students.
He added that his association believes security audits or risk analysis should be carried out at schools across the island. Reid explained that their intention is to see how they can collaborate with administrators with the view of conducting such audits.
“…We would be able to provide a written report to each school based on the challenges which we would have seen, and of course recommendations for the enhancement of those environments,” he explained.
Similar challenges across Caribbean
Reid who is also Director of Security Services at the University of the West Indies (UWI), noted that in April 2014, a group of security professionals met at the Marriott Hotel in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. He pointed out that the individuals shared a common concern about what they saw happening in the primary and secondary school environment.
“What I discovered from that discussion what was being experienced in Trinidad, St. Lucia and Grenada… was identical to what we are [being] confronted with in Barbados,” said Reid.
Reid pointed out said that in 2016 a correspondence was submitted with the view of engaging with the Education Ministry on the matter of discussing safety and security within the schools. Unfortunately however, he lamented his association did not get the kind of response that they anticipated.
Tuesday’s meeting gave teachers an opportunity to voice their concerns in light of the recent tragic death of a secondary school student. At the start of the meeting, the BUT held a moment of silence for the student of Frederick Smith Secondary School who was killed by another student on Friday November 8.