Acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams says the advent of police youth clubs in communities plays an integral part in reducing crime. He was speaking after taking part in the Laventille Police Youth Club’s peace walk on Saturday. The event was part of the club’s fifth anniversary celebrations and began at the Corner of Laventille Road and concluded at Laventille Road Sports Complex/Basketball Court.
“Peace in the community is their theme for this event and the T&T Police Service continues to support this youth club as well as all 107 youth clubs,” Williams said. “We see it as the medium by which the TTPS can make a direct contribution to the transformation of our society, moving it from a society challenged with crime to one where the young people would face positive direction.
“We no longer have major concerns around crime in this community, five years plus we had that but the advent of the youth club has changed that.” He said he commended and continued to encourage the leadership of the club, the leader of the club, Supt Community Secretariat Curtis Paul, the parent body and the community to rally around youth clubs to change the environment and this was happening in the community.
North Eastern Division Head Senior Supt Radcliffe Boxhill, who has been in charge of the area for the past 11 months, said he had seen positive change in the Laventille Road/Febeau Village area. He said he could safely say that notwithstanding the demographics of the area, there may be several social issues but it was not an area with high crime or designated a hot spot.
Boxhill said despite the challenges of the past, he was happy to attribute Laventille’s success to the highly active presence of the club under Supt Paul.
Paul meanwhile said since the youth club was introduced five years ago, crime, its effects and the fear of crime had subsided tremendously. He said there was a transformation in the people, discipline had increased among the young children and the elders had bonded with the youths via the club.