POLICE Youth Clubs are to receive a major chunk of the $5 million in financing that the government has set aside for youth clubs this year, according to parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Information, Youth and Culture, Senator Warren Newby.

"The Government of Jamaica, recognising the great potential of the youth club movement, are committed to giving grants totalling $5 million to clubs for this year, of which the police youth club movement will be a significant beneficiary," the senator said during the August 11 opening ceremony of the 25th annual Police Youth Club Summer Camp, held at Muschett High School.

Meanwhile, Newby - the youngest member of the Senate - challenged the 232 campers drawn from the 457 police youth clubs across the island to lead the charge in the renewal movement of especially the inner-city communities where criminal activities are most rampant.

"The engagement of young people in crime prevention initiatives remain the best bet that we have for long-term peace building and the restoration of order to these communities. It is a process which involves resocialisation and re-engagement," Newby said.

This view was mirrored by Deputy Commissioner of Police Charles Scarlett, who officially declared the camp open on behalf of Commissioner of Police Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin, who was unavoidably absent.

"You as youngsters have the collective responsibility to reverse this negative trend. Let's take stock of what is happening. Let's be agents of change. Let's be leaders in our communities and let's influence happenings around us. This lawlessness and disorder cannot continue as it has been. Generations yet unborn will condemn all of us," noted Scarlett.

Newby, for his part, said that in the process of nation rebuilding, every Jamaican youth between the ages of 15 and 24 should be engaged in "some sort of service club".

"Only through your own efforts are we going to overcome the challenges that the country face. This is why we are engaging the church, the Kiwanians, the Rotarians, JCs, the Prince of Wales Trust, and other such institutions - the Boys' Brigades, the Scouts the Cadet core - because we want a lasting partnership," he said.

He added that government was in the process of revamping of the National Youth Council.

"This process is being facilitated by the creation of a constitution and the location of a secretariat of the National Youth Council within the offices of the National Centre for Youth Development," he said. "We believe that the young leaders that our country is producing must have a forum where they can meet to discuss ideas, find solutions to their common problem, engage the government, engage private sector, engage their peers in a process for redevelopment for our country."

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