More young people are using violence to enhance their credibility as loyal recruits for gang leaders.
Head of the Juvenile Liaison Scheme, Sergeant Hallam Jemmott, said the number of youngsters who got into fights for their peers was “alarming”. He was addressing a panel discussion hosted by the Alexandra Alumni Association on Saturday at the school in Speightstown, St Peter.
“They were constantly doing that (fighting) but they can’t tell you who started the fight, what they are fighting for, what the fight is about. They were just fighting for their friends. And to me that was disturbing, to say the least,” the lawman explained.
Jemmott, however, said based on their research, girls were more likely to fight in groups than boys.
Counsellor at Graydon Sealy Secondary School, Donna Tull-Cox, made similar points and said there was more ganging up as opposed to two people having a disagreement.
“You would find now that one person would have a bunch of their friends or a squad. And you don’t even have to be in a school for your squad to take somebody out. You may not even have a problem with anybody else, but just to belong, you have to pick a fight and you have to win. Or, somebody else would pick a fight and you are supposed to jump in and join them because you are supposed to have your squad’s back, whether or not you believe in their cause,” she added.
She said due to prolonged grudges, those groups made it a goal to settle unresolved issues violently years later.
“Minimal provocation is needed; you don’t even have to say somebody stepped on my foot . . . . Somebody would bring a squad for something that happened three years ago, because the thing is, you did something to me and I want [to] get you before we leave school,” she said.
While Tull-Cox attributed the violence in schools to children’s exposure to images in the media and music, the sergeant said problems at home were a big factor.
“When we don’t deal with these things and there are those unresolved issues, they are dealt with by the children how they think they should deal with it and how they want to get out their anger,” he added. (TG)