A police superintendent assigned to the Supreme Court has blamed the overcrowded state of police lock-ups in Kingston and St Andrew on the number of school children being arrested for criminal offences.

“Overcrowding will always be a problem although there is a new remand centre [the Horizon Remand Centre in Kingston] as there is an increase in criminal cases especially in the schools,” Superintendent Neville Knight said.

The majority of the students arrested are from schools in the Kingston western, Kingston southern and Kingston central divisions, Knight told Justice Paulette Williams during his presentation at the close of the Hilary Term of the Circuit Court on Friday. The circuit reopens on April 11.

Knight, who was responding to a question from Justice Williams concerning the issue of overcrowded lock-ups, said that there are currently 292 persons in police custody throughout Kingston and St Andrew, though he was unable to say what percentage of the number included school children.

“It appears that the dons out there are infiltrating the schools,” Knight told the Observer after the court sitting. “Parents need to take time out with their children and know what is happening in their lives. They need to search their bags and books and know the type of friends they keep.”

Knight also warned his colleagues to take care in how they interact with troubled children. “The police need to be careful how they handle these situations where students find themselves in trouble with the law because they are in need of guidance,” he said.

“We cannot just look at what the law says. We need to go beyond the law to help them. Sometimes these children’s parents go abroad and leave them with older brothers and sisters who oftentimes are in need of guidance themselves.

These are sensitive issues we are dealing with, so we have to be careful how we handle them,” Knight advised.

He said schools must also place greater emphasis on reaching the wayward students among their numbers through guidance and counselling.

Knight also said that the growing number of students being arrested for criminal offences was not unique to Kingston as parishes such as St James and Clarendon were experiencing the same problem. However, he was unable to give figures to support his claim.

In recent months there have been more frequent reports of violent altercations between students in schools across Kingston and St Andrew and reports of students robbing other students.

On Wednesday, classes at the Kingston Technical High School had to be suspended and the police called in due to an outbreak of gang violence among some students.

One student was stabbed in the incident, another injured and at least four arrested by the police.