Surveillance Cameras after the Umpteenth Break-in at Wesley Lower

This afternoon, a population of a little over four hundred primary school students gathered on the compound at Wesley Lower School where there has been an endless rash of break-ins since December.  They got together in the schoolyard for a brief ceremony during which Albert Area Representative Tracey Panton and the General Manager of Tropicana Casino gifted the school a new video surveillance system to monitor the property in their absence.  News Five’s Isani Cayetano has more.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

There has been a relentless spate of burglaries at Wesley Lower School on Albert Street in recent weeks.  Thieves have repeatedly made their way into classrooms and offices and helped themselves with school supplies and other items in consecutive weeks.  An appeal to Area Representative Tracey Panton has resulted in the donation of a system of surveillance cameras that will be installed in the days ahead.

Tracey Panton

Tracey Panton, Area Representative, Albert Division

“We had a conversation with the principal of the school regarding the first break-in in December.  We had made a commitment to support the project [but] we couldn’t do it right away because we had just gotten through the Christmas Greeting Program and when we heard of the most recent break-in we thought we’d reach out to our friends in the business community to assist us to complete the project and as you know, Tropicana Casino responded very readily and gave us a contribution of twenty-five hundred dollars towards the security system for the school.”

According to Principal Shirley Saldano, the frequent break-ins were frustrating since they set the school back considerably

Shirley Saldano

Shirley Saldano, Principal, Wesley Primary School

“This is my first year as the principal and coming onboard and now that it hits home where I am, you know, it’s so depressing, it’s so overwhelming where I am because here we are trying to fight to make sure that we have all the necessary things that we need to service our children and for these thieves to come and just set us back, it’s like moving one step forward and going back another two or three steps backward.  Mein, and you know at the end of the day I believe in my God.  Pray to him and ask him for guidance and support and going to Minister Tracey Taegar-Panton and if I can say with the first word, she jumped and she will assist us.  That was in December.  Every other week from then we have numerous break-ins in teachers classrooms and then last Thursday the office again got it.”

While the business community has chipped in with financial assistance, the Ministry of Education has also committed to aid with the initiative.

Tracey Panton

“The estimate that was provided to us for the project came after an assessment was done by the school and we believe that that should cover the pertinent areas, but as the principal also indicated today that there is also going to be help from the Ministry of Education to add more cameras to the system.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Isani Cayetano.