Criminals in St Lucia have been targeting school children to recruit them into gangs and a life of crime, according to Police Commissioner Milton Desir.
Desir acknowledges the tactic often used by gangs to prey upon some of the island’s most vulnerable children.
Recruiters can loiter on street corners frequented by students and approach children walking to and from school, offering them, in most cases, a chance to make some quick money while others may be groomed for months, either in person or online.
“The criminals out there will recruit them, and because of the vulnerability, sometimes some kids may not have anything to go to school, but these persons become prey to the criminals who give them fancy shoes and so on which they accept, and they groom them into the activities,” Desir said.
“When a child is not at school, we need to find out where that child is. All organizations are responsible, the social services we need to get together in the fight against crime,” he stated.
