Students warned against gang recruitment as trafficking concerns persist

Jamaican students are being warned that gang recruitment can begin before they understand the consequences of criminal involvement, as education and police officials intensify efforts to keep the youth away from organised crime.

The warning came on Sunday at the launch of Anti-Gang in Schools Week 2026, led by the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information and the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

The November 8 to 14 observance is being held under the theme ‘Step Outta Gang, Step Inna Greatness’. It will include anti-gang lessons in schools and a restorative practices session today, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Richard Troupe, national coordinator of the ministry’s Schools’ Safety and Security Branch, reminded the congregation at the Emmanuel Apostolic Church in Kingston that children could be exposed to gang influence through their communities, relationships, and even members of their own families.

“The influence of gangs is encountered long before they fully understand what gang membership means. It may be visible in the activities of individuals within their communities, the relationships they form, or the behaviour of people they have come to admire, including members of their own families,” he said.

In certain circumstances, he added, young people may associate gang involvement with protection, financial security, respect or a sense of belonging. These perceptions can become particularly influential when children are exposed to violence, intimidation or limited opportunities for positive engagement.

Troupe said recruitment may begin with seemingly harmless offers of friendship, assistance or protection before developing into expectations of loyalty and participation in activities that put children’s safety and future at risk.

Citing a 2023 study on students’ perceptions of school safety, he said 20 per cent of approximately 9,750 students surveyed across 331 schools knew students at their institutions who were gang members.

While the findings did not establish the actual prevalence of gang membership, he said they raised concerns about students’ awareness of gang involvement within school communities. More troubling, he added, was that 23.9 per cent of students surveyed did not know an adult at school whom they could approach when they needed help.

“A student who encounters intimidation, threats or pressure to participate in gang-related activities needs somewhere to turn. When that student does not feel connected to a trusted adult, opportunities for early intervention may be lost,” Troupe stressed, as members of the congregation nodded in agreement.

The campaign comes amid concerns raised in the United States Department of State’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report that children apprehended for gang-related activities are not typically screened for signs of human trafficking, potentially leaving some to be punished for offences they were forced to commit.

The report said Jamaican children, particularly boys from disadvantaged backgrounds, were being exploited by gangs in forced criminal activities, including acting as lookouts, gunmen and couriers of weapons and drugs.

It also highlighted that non-specialised police officers did not typically screen children apprehended for gang-related activities for trafficking indicators. Inadequate screening, it warned, could result in children being penalised for unlawful acts committed as a direct consequence of their exploitation.

Last month, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency said children reported to the agency were screened for possible human trafficking, including exploitation into criminal activity. However, it said no suspected child-trafficking case brought to its attention had been specifically identified as involving minors forced into gang activity. The agency also had no figures on children reported for gang involvement over the preceding three years.

The Gleaner has sought responses for several weeks from the Ministry of National Security and the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons on the concerns raised in the US report, but has still not received a response.

Troupe said the education ministry was working with the JCF and other partners to promote school safety, preventive intervention, and positive student behaviour. He also urged parents to pay closer attention to their children’s activities and friendships.

Meanwhile, Deputy Superintendent of Police Andrea Murray, of the JCF’s Community Safety and Security Branch, described the week as a call for young people to reject the promises of gang affiliation and embrace education, discipline and positive associations.

“Gangs do not offer greatness. They offer an illusion of belonging at the expense of freedom, opportunity, and too often life itself,” she said.

She warned that the perceived power, protection and acceptance associated with gangs were often replaced by fear, violence, criminal records, disrupted education and shattered family aspirations.

“True greatness is not about the number of people who fear you but about the number of lives you positively influence,” Murray said, adding that schools must remain places of learning and opportunity, not recruitment grounds for criminal networks.

corey.robinson@gleanerjm.com