Police presence will increase in high schools where there were fights and threats between students
The Minister of the Interior, Luis Alberto Heber, met with the Board of Directors of the National Party to report on what has been done so far by the portfolio in the field of public security. At the end of the meeting, Heber referred to the incidents recorded last week in various high schools in the country and assured that the police presence in those educational centers will be increased.
“We are going to be very vigilant around these high schools,” said the minister, adding: “I hope it does not happen in other high schools, that it is not a habit.”
In this sense, Heber maintained that the acts of violence that were generated caught his attention and explained that they are in direct contact with the authorities of the National Administration of Public Education (ANEP).
The minister explained that the General Directorate of Police Information and Intelligence is analyzing the videos that went viral on social networks to determine if the bullying situation could have triggered in the suicide of a Zorrilla high school student.
Between Thursday and Friday of last week, only in Montevideo were there incidents at the Zorrilla (4), Varela (5) high schools, and at the UTU School of Arts and Crafts in Palermo, where a young man cut a classmate with a sharp object.
On the other hand, in the interior there were acts of violence in Mercedes, Batlle y Ordóñez, Fray Bentos and Las Piedras.
Security plan
Heber also referred to the crime prevention plan presented by Diego Sanjurjo and the study of political parties with parliamentary representation. In this regard, the minister assured that he was “satisfied”.
“We are not asking for opinions on what we have to do in our fight against organized crime, what we are trying to build is how to attack the causes of violence and homicide,” said the minister.
The objective of the multi-party meetings is to “attack the hard core of a society that is unfortunately more violent [en la] that we are experiencing and that conflicts are resolved in a very tremendous way.”
Heber explained that in the meeting with the board, the nationalists made points. “We are open. Nobody here has the truth in their hands,” said the minister, adding: “We are walking on ground that the country had not walked, which is walking together to find the causes.”
addictions
On security policies, Heber said that “it is not a task of the Interior Ministry alone,” adding: “It is an issue that encompasses other ministries and that is why we are talking about the security cabinet. ANEP and Public Health must be involved, due to the issue of addictions”.
In this sense, he explained that there are communications with the European Union to finance spaces so that the inmates “do not end up consolidating their addiction” and thus can be rehabilitated. “It is not a job from one day to the next, so there needs to be continuity over time and this is not just a task for one administration, but for several,” he assured.
