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Teno holds security meeting with school officials, DPS
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Posted on Nov 17 1999
In fresh efforts to protect students from growing criminal activities on the island, Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio yesterday met with education and law enforcement officials to ensure that authorities implement security measures inside the campus.
During the meeting, the governor inquired if safety programs are in place to prevent any type of violence that may occur in the school premises, according to Board of Education member Esther Fleming.
The governor expressed concern on the public’s safety and the need to combat criminal activities with the recent kidnapping attempt on the son of one of the biggest garment manufacturers.
With the onset of the holiday season when students are expected to attend a lot of activities in the evening, Tenorio said is worried that children may encounter security problem.
The recent wave of shooting in the school campuses in the United States has also sent the local chief executive worrying about whether or not schools in the Northern Marianas are security conscious.
Fleming assured the governor that school officials are taking precautionary measures and have been on the lookout for potential security problem. While school officials are doing their job in trying to protect the students within the campuses, Fleming said parents should be equally involved in handling the security problem since they only stay in the school for six hours.
“When children come to school drunk or have taken drugs, parents should recognize that this is something that the school authorities cannot handle alone,” said Fleming.
The Department of Public Safety has pledged to give priority to calls from school authorities regarding problems in campuses.
“We have to teach the children how to handle emergency situation, how to look at the license plate and alert the authorities about suspicious looking people in the premises or a vehicle parked nearby for a long time,” said Fleming.
The governor has earlier sought to beef up security and boost efforts of the authorities in their fight against crimes as theft, robbery and snatching have recently risen, which the police have attributed to the rampant use of illegal drugs.
