TRNC police to increase patrols near schools before the start of the school year

TRNC police will continue the “Safe School” project ahead of the start of the school year on 14 September: the number of foot and vehicle patrols near schools will be increased, officers will be stationed at entrances, and school transport vehicles and their drivers will be checked.

According to the TRNC Police General Directorate, the project is being carried out jointly with the Ministry of National Education and will continue at the same scale this year. Security and traffic control around schools will be strengthened, while officers will be stationed at entrances to monitor road order and pedestrian safety.

School transport is a separate area of focus. Police will inspect buses and minibuses used to transport students, their roadworthiness and the drivers themselves. Inspections will also be stepped up at shops near schools that sell cigarettes and tobacco products.

Together with school administrations, police will hold seminars for students, parents and teachers. Topics will include road safety, what to do in the event of a fire or other emergency, drug addiction, domestic violence, cyberbullying and bullying by peers, internet safety, and preventing children from being drawn into crime.

Each district police department will appoint officers responsible for secondary schools to enable a faster response to incidents. Through the project tracking programme, school principals will continue to be able to notify police in advance about risks to students and teachers — before anything happens.

Parents are asked not to park near school gates, pedestrian crossings, pavements or street corners, and to let children out through the door on the roadside. Students are advised to walk on the pavement, or, where there is none, along the right-hand edge of the road, and to cross the street at crossings or where a police officer is present. School transport drivers were reminded to keep the doors closed while moving, not to carry students standing, and to let them off only at stops; when children under the age of 11 are being transported, the law requires an accompanying adult to be present in the vehicle.