Minister of National Security, Colonel Trevor MacMillan, said the Peace and Love in Society (PALS) initiative needs more support now than ever before.

He was speaking yesterday at a press conference hosted at Jamaica House to launch Peace Day, which will be observed on Tuesday, March 3.

"The nation needs the support of every law-abiding Jamaican to put hands and hearts into the programme to bring back peace and love in society," MacMillan said.

MacMillan said even though violence had become a serious problem in schools, it was a minority who were carrying out the offences.

"During a meeting with principals, one relayed that a group of six boys in the school population caused most of the problems. Another principal with a larger population said it was only approximately 20 boys that caused the most difficulty," he said.

Cause for concern

The minister pointed out that this was cause for concern, saying that 80 per cent of crimes committed in our society today were being committed by young men aged 15-25.

"Young men are our biggest problem and are the ones dropping out of school and joining gangs," he said.

He further stated that, in the meeting with principals, another concern was that some students were the children of gang members. "Our social fabric is being ripped apart before our eyes, even as family structures collapse, leaving young people more vulnerable than ever.

"Communities, administrators, parents, teachers and students must come together to make schools safe. Otherwise, prevention and punishment will not be effective."

In recent times, the PALS programme has been broadened to include the entire society and not just schools.

With that in mind, MacMillan said the tragic reality was that students return to a society with generally antisocial tendencies.