Georgia’s Interior Ministry to Assign Officers to High Risk Schools

(TBILISI) -- Georgia’s Internal Affairs Ministry selected several schools in the capital Tbilisi to be permanently patrolled by police after they were identified as being high risk.

The decision by the authorities to assign permanent police patrols to certain schools comes in the wake of a deadly schoolyard attack that claimed the lives of two 16-year-old boys on December 1.

Deputy Interior Minister Natia Mezvrishvili says the schools were identified through information provided by interior ministry staff at schools and based on statistical data.

“The schools have more kids with aggressive tendencies and a higher rate of acts of violence than other schools,” Mezvrishvili said without naming the schools.

She also announced changes for the security personnel attached to each school, saying each officer would have to undergo conflict resolution training courses.

Security officers were introduced under the United National Movement leadership to decrease and eliminate the cases of violence at schools.