TRELAWNY, Jamaica— The Trelawny Police Division on Saturday officially launched the Wakefield Police Homework Club at the Wakefield Police Station in the parish.

This community-based initiative aims to support the academic and personal development of students in the area.

The homework club, initiated by Constable Nardia McKenzie and Constable Jerome Stephens, began with just one student in February and has since grown to 25.

Each participant now benefits from mentorship, academic assistance, and encouragement to pursue their dreams.

Delivering the keynote address at the launch, Area One Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Glenford Miller, urged parents to remain consistent in supporting their children. He emphasised that with proper guidance and belief, every child has the potential to rise above adversity and steer clear of crime.

“When you look at crime, it’s mostly young people committing crime. If you don’t curb the children from now, the police will have problems later on. And you, as community members and parents, are going to have bigger problems because they are going to give you headaches, and who you going call? The police!” said ACP Miller.

“These are somethings, gentle people, that we need to fix and fix it fast,” he added.

ACP Miller commended Constables McKenzie and Stephens for their dedication, describing the initiative as one with national potential.

“I want to thank our conceptualisers, Woman Constable McKenzie and Constable Jerome Stephens. I want to thank them because I must tell you it is good when our children have somewhere to go,” he said.

“This homework programme is a programme that can take off right across Jamaica,” he added.

The launch was well-supported by key stakeholders, including Councillor Jonathan Bartley (Jamaica Labour Party, Wakefield Division), representatives from the Ministry of Education, community members, parents, and students.

The Trelawny Police Division, which currently operates six active police youth clubs across the parish, is also set to introduce a police youth club within a school setting.

“We are in the process of starting a very novel idea, that of creating a police youth club within a school environ because there are a lot of challenges that are taking place within our schools,” revealed Superintendent Winston Milton, commander of the Trelawny Police Division, during a recent panel discussion in Falmouth.

“We believe that it is important to engage this very important grouping, not only because we have school resource officers going into these schools as law enforcement agents, but engaging them so that we can understand what are the issues that are confronting them and better appreciate things from their perspective and work with them towards achieving a mutually acceptable solution,” he explained.

-Horace Hines