Dear Editor,

Recently, I decided to take a walk from the court down South Road at approximately 3:30 pm. I was surprised at the level of activity that was going on in that vicinity. Girls in their school uniforms could be seen hanging over car windows talking to men (not boys). Minibuses built for 15 persons (3 to a seat) had about ten in each seat, and parked in the middle of the road soliciting more children into the buses, packing them like sardines, while the music blasted, rap and dub.

At nights teenage girls can be seen after 7:00 pm, pairing off with male companions standing opposite the court and the regular hangout spots. "Waiting on de ride".

The questions I ask myself are; where are the parents? (As a mother I would want my child home before dark), what about STD, pregnancy etc? What about moral values? What about the values they once taught us in school? Why are the police and the welfare department silent?

The recent campaign by School Welfare Officers, Probation and Welfare Officers, Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security and members of the City Constabulary, was a well needed and timely campaign, and should be encouraged and promoted.

I suggest putting in place patrols in the regular liming spots (in front of the court, Camp and Croal streets, South and King streets), where young girls and boys can be seen up to 8:00 pm from Mondays to Fridays 'pairing off'; putting school buses on the road to take them home, hence no excuse for being there; and fines on parents who are irresponsible to have a child out so late at nights.