Officers of the Pinto Police Post have repaired a hole in the fence surrounding the Santa Rosa Government Primary School, which was identified as a major security breach.
Senior officials in the Northern Division North said a hole in the perimeter fence, which was said to be putting the safety of both staff and students at risk, had been repaired on Wednesday by officers.
The goodwill gesture was undertaken by officers, alongside the school’s groundsman, following an incident at the school on June 10 in which a man entered the school.
Police said the man told the guard on duty that he was an On-the-Job (OJT) music teacher and later locked himself in a storeroom with several female pupils and made sexual advances to some of them in return for money.
A teacher was alerted when the pupils began screaming and she raised an alarm, forcing the suspect to flee.
Since then, senior police officials have stepped up community patrols and also introduced a daily check-in system with the school’s administration.
In addition, Guardian Media was told that the T&T Police Service (TTPS) had appointed liaison officers who will be interacting with the school’s administrative team daily to ensure operations run smoothly and are uninterrupted.
A senior police official said, “It is a temporary intervention as a panel has to be installed.”
Despite this, the official said the interim measure will afford the traumatised pupils, as well as their parents and teachers, a greater sense of security.
“Officers, recognising the breach, worked with the school groundsman to repair the hole. Sgt Naitram and his team at the Pinto Police Station continue to provide support for the Santa Rosa Primary School.”
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has also undertaken a comprehensive review of the school’s infrastructure and existing security policies following the incident.
