WESTERN BUREAU:
THE POLICE were called in yesterday to quell disturbances on the first day of a "truancy camp" at Nutshell, Trelawny, for teenage boys with disciplinary problems.
Officers from the Duncans police station had to visit the camp at 9 a.m. and again at 2 p.m. after they received urgent calls about unruly behaviour there.
The camp, an initiative of the Ministry of Education and the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, was set up for 180 teenage boys from 15 to 17 years old who exhibit behavioural problems.
Several fights are reported to have broken out among the boys within a few hours of their being assembled on Sunday night. The reports say there were requests for at least 30 to be removed from the school.
The Duncans police reported, however, that members of the school's administrative staff had telephoned the station twice yesterday to report trouble at the institution. However, on both occasions when the police arrived they were told that the situation was under control.
"When I got there they reported to me that there was a disturbance but that they have everything under control," said Sergeant Noel Grant, the officer in charge of the Duncans police station. According to Sgt. Grant, the students were seated in their classrooms when the police arrived, and all activities appeared to be normal.
The truancy camp is residential and is expected to run until September 25. The boys, who are from Montego Bay, Kingston and St. Andrew, were recommended for the camp as students who had been having problems with absenteeism linked to conduct disorder in school, and learning disabilities.
