THE St Mary Police have implemented measures to combat the recent spike in crimes in Gayle after a section of Tacky High was torched earlier this year and the school’s watchman murdered in a separate incident.

The students’ education was disrupted after four armed gunmen wearing masks held up the watchman and demanded that he provide the combination to open the school’s vault.

When their demands were not met, the men tied up the watchman and attempted to rob the administrative building. Hours later a fire broke out and it is suspected that the men torched the building.

The staff room, principal’s office, book room, multi-purpose hall, and storerooms were destroyed in the fire.

Two months after the suspected arson the watchman was murdered, the watchman 44-year-old Hewitt Jarrett was found with gunshot wounds on the school compound.

Although no one has been arrested for the arson or Jarrett’s murder, head of the St Mary Police Superintendent Dean Johnson said” the investigations have been proceeding apace.”

In reassuring the public that the police are proactive in the area, Superintendent Johnson said “The staff of the Gayle Police Criminal Investigative Bureau has been increased and restructured in terms of a new sub-officer, who is known for his impressive record of investigation and conviction in our courts.”

In addition, Johnson said there is now twice the number of detectives assigned to that police station and this is already making an impact on the dispensation of service to the community.

“Significant progress has been made in the investigations of serious crimes at Gayle,” he told the Jamaica Observer North East.

The police will also be working closely with the students and staff at Tacky for the new school year as they try to make the school population comfortable, following the series of tragedy at the institution.

“For the new term, a Schools Resource Officer is to be assigned at Tacky High. The resumption will see a patrol concentrated in the vicinity of that institution and the first day of school will be attended by a senior officer and the inspector in charge of Gayle…all of this to ensure that Tacky High School will have as smooth a return to its activities as possible as far as policing can facilitate,” Johnson said.

Checks with the Tacky High revealed that the school was carrying out regular preparations for the new administrative year.

Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites told the Observer last month that the school which had its administrative block razed by arsonists in May, was set to undergo repairs.

“Through the generosity of Food For the Poor… five classrooms are being constructed to accommodate students, starting September,” Thwaites disclosed.

The classrooms will be built from timber at a cost of $6.5 million.

A total of $19 million will be spent to repair the roof of the administrative block, according to Thwaites.

“A procurement has been received for Tropical Metal Products to repair the roof and refurbish the section that was burnt out,” added the minister.

He said the repairs would not be completed by the time school opens but are projected to finish before the end of the Christmas term.

“Tacky suffered that tragedy and the tragedy has not yet been resolved because we still don’t know what was the motive for the fire, but we do know that a number of the records that were under investigation were destroyed. The fact that the watchman was murdered in very, very suspicious circumstances has compounded the issue,” Thwaites said.

Meanwhile, the Government is seeking to acquire a lot of land adjoining the school to expand the institution.

“The Ministry of Education is negotiating for the purchase of the adjacent property which will allow for the expansion and the evolution from shift [system], I hope by September 2015,” the minister said.