Over 200 Year Ten students at John Gray High School saw firsthand the real consequences of making bad life-choices during Youth Crime Prevention Day (YCPD) on Tuesday, 28 June, 2016.

Instead of going to their regular classes, John Gray High School students went to the Family Life Centre to attend workshops on the causes and consequences of crime, and how to make positive decisions. More than 160 students at Clifton Hunter High School took part in a similar event on Friday, 24 June, 2016.

During six 45-minute sessions the young people were exposed to a variety of topics presented by experts, testimonials by recovered drug addicts and other presentations from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS), Family Resource Center and Her Majesty’s Prison Service.

Designed to increase awareness and reinforce their ability to make positive life-choices, workshops included on serious subjects such as burglary, theft, robbery and carrying offensive or prohibited weapons. Discussions also touched on the negative effects of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as bullying.

In a seminar called “Let’s Talk”, students discussed the findings of the Report on the Youth Health and Sexuality Survey conducted by the Pan American Health Organization in 2013. It highlighted the challenges children may encounter as they maneuver from adolescents to young persons – such as teenage pregnancy, gangs, entitlement, disruptions in access to education, and lack of respect for adults and authority.

The Youth Anti-Crime Trust (Youth ACT) organized the event in collaboration with the Government Ministries responsible for Education, Community Affairs and Home Affairs; through the support and time of volunteers from Her Majesty’s Prison Service, the RCIPS, Department of Education Services, and of the Family Resource Centre and the Hope For Today Foundation.

Members of Youth ACT Board include a representative from the Ministry of Education, Department of Education, Her Majesty’s Prison Service and people representing a cross-section of the Cayman Islands community.

Youth ACT Chairperson Bonnie Anglin said, “I hope that, by educating students on the causes, consequences and penalties of crime, they receive empowering information on crime-awareness and -prevention. This will enable them to make positive decisions in their life choices.”

With the successful implementation for Years 8 and 10, Ms Anglin stated that, “Youth ACT now plans to introduce the programme to Years 5 and 6 in the primary schools in coming school years.”

The YCPD has taken place since 2013, involving over 2,000 Year 8 students from public high schools on Grand Cayman, as well as all grade levels from Cayman Brac’s Layman Scott High School.

The YCPD Programme is a recommendation of the Cayman Islands National Security Council, to address anti-social behavior and reduce root causes of crime among youth.

 Photos (Credit Edlyn Ruiz, GIS)

Students listen attentively to the presenters.