POLICE will be teaching English in classrooms as early as next year, in a bid to curb youth crime and break the hold of triad gangs on schools.
The move is expected to follow a final report jointly produced by police and academics on the problem of school triads in Kwai Ching. The report is due for release by the end of the year.
Kwai Ching District Commander Chief Superintendent Peter Thompson said co-operation between police and schools in collecting 7,500 survey responses from students had the effect of boosting reports of crime coming from schools, and had inspired one teacher to use marked dollar bills and make a citizen's arrest of a youth who demanded protection money.
Superintendent Thompson said that the English-teaching exercise would further build up trust and co-operation between police and schools.
''Most schools would welcome help from English-language speakers, and these lessons would be conducted more informally than the usual uniformed talks,'' he said.
Lessons will begin at Lok Sin Tong Ku Chiu Man Secondary School, and, if successful, will be extended throughout the district.
School principal Dr Alex Fung Chi-wah, who is also director of the survey group, has called for the survey to be extended territory-wide to provide data on youth in each district which could help parents and social workers counteract triad influences.