WHERE ARE OUR CHILDREN'S RIGHTS ?

[newt]

Please tell me I have read tonight's JEP incorrectly. Wendy Kinnard intends to bring in a law enabling the police to enter any school and search any child without a warrant, in the presence of the headmaster !!!!  What about a parent being present ? I would not be a happy bunny to know they had searched my children !!! I am appalled !!!
Am I the only one ?

[Jason the Maverick]

I agree with what you are saying, but do we have a teenage knife problem at the moment?

[newt]

No, we don't. My children are 13 and 15 and in one of the worst schools here. I know of one incident during the time they have been at school. What worries me is there are no specifics mentioned on "search". Does this mean empty their pockets and bags or does it go further? (One of them is now attending a more civilised establishment!)

[Jason the Maverick]

Yer, I read that as well.  Yes it sounds very intrusive. 

[newt]

Can anyone tell me if Wendy Kinnard has any children ? I have just read on Wikipedia that she doesn't intend to stand for re-election this year, is she trying to push these dictatorial laws through before she goes?

[Chief Minister]

Yer, she has kids.

[newt]

I cannot understand how a mother could possibly agree to such a thing. Surely the way to deal with these incidents is to hit the offenders hard with suitable consequences for their actions when they have done something.  Bottom line is whether or not they have done anything wrong they are still CHILDREN !

[ageofaquarius]

She does come over a tad right of attila the hun.  What about their human rights and if children are allowed to be searched for whatever, knives, drugs, red nail-varnish, then where does it stop.  Absolutely appalling idea.  The woman is mad but spot on for Jersey's dictatorial approach. 

[newt]

Is there any way this woman can be stopped?  Tell me what I can do.

[newt]

What next? DNA samples to be taken? There is a school here that uses finger print identification to use the library! Apparently the finger prints are not kept on file! So how are they recognized by the machine? What is our island coming to? I think all these measures with school children are being taken to condition the younger generation. If they get used to these draconian measures when they are growing up then as adults they will just accept anything that's thrown at them.

[danrok]

Seems to make sense to me.

Whilst there was no knife incidents when I was at school, there were plenty of lads with some serious looking knives, e.g. switch blades and butterfly knives.  Both of which are designed purely for use as weapons.

I don't think they're planning on random searches.  The police have better things to do.

However, if a pupil reports that another pupil has a knife in their possession, they need to be able to search that person legally.

[newt]

My bone of contention is that there is no mention of a parent or guardian needing to be present.

[danrok]

My bone of contention is that there is no mention of a parent or guardian needing to be present.

According to the JEP web-site this would be used to search someone when there is a suspicion that they've committed an offence.

I'm sure that, in such a serious situation, the school and/or police would be contacting the child's parents very promptly.

If they can only search a child when their parent is present, then that would be a system which could be easily manipulated by a parent - they simply refuse to turn up.  Not all parents are responsible people.

[newt]

So just because some people are irresponsible that means all our children are to live under laws which deny them their rights. Do you have any idea how many children tell tales purely to get another child into trouble? So are we going to remove compasses, broken protractors, pencils, pens  (especially fountain pens), broken rulers and anything else they can lay their hands on, my two boys have witnessed attacks in the school with all of these implements!!!

[Deputy Dawg]

Eeeh When I were a lad, we add to get up alf and awer before we went to bed and lick street clean.

I know that old fogies say that they had it harder in their day, and its possibly true but I think todays parents are too soft and the kids KNOW that they can get away with things. Because of that kids at snow hill will cause trouble to try to make you retaliate so that they can then sue you. Maybe this sort of measure will make them KNOW that they can be searched in schools should a report on offensive weapons be made and hopefully prevent them from taking them there in the first place.

If I had kids and they were caught with a knife, they wouldn't be able to sit for a week and I would be completely embarrassed. Some parents though wouldn't give a monkeys, and probably because of those few, then all need to be treated the same, without parent present.

If something happened to your child, god forbid, would you expect to wait until another childs parent arrived before the police could search them for possible weapons? In the worse case scenario, what damage could this child do in the time it takes a wayward parent to arrive?

I don't think anyone with reasonably behaved children has anything to worry about personally.