Kotka school steps up monitoring after youth vandalism frightens pupils

Yle reports that Aittakorven School in Kotka will increase surveillance after groups of young people vandalised school property and left some pupils afraid to come to the grounds alone.

Young people have gathered at the school in the evenings and at weekends, damaging walls, mailboxes, bins, a fence and other items in the yard, principal Ville Vahvanen told Yle. Police have also had to investigate an assault at the school grounds.

The disruptive behaviour has been a daily occurrence this summer and autumn, Vahvanen said. In September, police recorded 38 child welfare reports from the school grounds in a single weekend. The principal believes the reports were linked to substance use. Some of the young people are pupils at the school, which has grades one to five, while many come from elsewhere.

Some parents have agreed to keep their children away from the school grounds. Local children are afraid to go to football or basketball practice alone, Vahvanen said, and need to be accompanied as far as the school hall.

Kotka youth workers have visited the school on almost every weekday evening over the past two weeks. Mobile youth work instructor Jenni Rahkonen said the grounds had been calm when staff were present, and that the worst of the disruption may already have passed.

The school plans to increase visits by police and youth workers and make more frequent use of security guards. It is also considering adding to the existing camera surveillance. Vahvanen said that not all young people who gather at the school behave inappropriately and that the grounds can still be a good place to spend time in suitable company.