Police Urge Safeguards for Children Allowed to Travel Alone

Parents are being encouraged to be vigilant and cautious when they allow their children to travel alone.

This is specifically in relation to their commuting on public transportation to and from school and walking in their communities, according to the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

Head of the JCF’s Social Media Team, Woman Sergeant Kayla Keane, maintains that parents need to develop safe routines for their children when allowing them to travel alone, noting that there are several misconceptions about the process.

“Some of these misconceptions include the fact that people think urban areas are more dangerous, which is somewhat true. But even in a quiet, peaceful [rural] community, there can be significant danger to those children who are travelling alone, because crimes committed against children [are] often by people who they know,” she told JIS News.

In cases where a child is allowed to walk a short distance in their community, the policewoman advises parents to develop a pattern of checking in with community members at intervals of the youngster’s journey.

“Let’s say your child is walking to Grandma’s house; instead of relying on thinking that people from the community will look out for your child, make a phone call to somebody who lives [along the route] and let them notify you when they see your child passing,” she said.

“Somebody who lives at an even further distance, you can also call or send a WhatsApp message… as well, and then you check in with grandma to make sure that the child actually arrived at her house,” Sergeant Keane added.

She said establishing such routines is quite effective and useful, especially in cases where the police need to be alerted very early in relation to parents’ concerns.

“Time is very important in police investigations. The quicker we find out, the quicker we can solve it or remedy the issue. If five minutes pass [and you have heard nothing], you can say it’s time for me to leave out because something is not right, as opposed to waiting for two, three or four hours or even until night, to see [why] they didn’t call,” Sergeant Keane stated.