Boyce urges youth restraint against disrespect

Too many young people are resorting to violence over petty slights, Deputy Commissioner of Police Erwin Boyce has complained.

Boyce expressed concern that youngsters are demonstrating a lack of restraint whenever faced with perceived disrespect.

“We see this coming out when we do our investigations. We hear things like ‘this person disrespect me or this person disrespect my girl or my family and as a result, I had to take the action that I did.’ This is not the way to respond,” the senior police officer said.

Boyce made the comments in the feature address at the Drug Awareness Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) graduation and awards ceremony for the George Lamming Primary School, which was held today at Prince Cave Hall in the District ‘A’ Police Complex.

Boyce urged the graduating class to arm themselves with appropriate problem-solving skills, as they would encounter these issues on a regular basis as they go through their adolescent lives.

“Disrespect is a word that is used quite often in the criminal landscape. I want to urge you that things will happen and you have to build the sort of resilience and the power to prevent yourself from being drawn into situations that will cause you to go down the wrong side of the road.”

The deputy commissioner also told the graduating class of a number of other areas that they need to be on the lookout for, as they handle conflict resolution in their lives, suggesting that at times their courage would be challenged. But he urged them to bear in mind that they have nothing to prove to their peers.

“You would hear words such as spine, disrespect, you are a worm, crime, violence and bullying. All these are now going to be part of your vocabulary as you move from this stage of life to the other.

“When you hear someone does not have spine, it is meant to mean that person is a coward. Quite often many persons see that as a way to show off their manhood.”

“How you deal with those matters would be critical in the understanding of your own personal development. You have been given lessons of right and wrong and you must determine what is best for you. Your response must be contingent on how you want to be seen,” he said.