BENDIGO Senior Secondary College teachers are no longer monitoring their students in Rosalind Park after concerns about the conduct of people gathering in that space during the day.
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Students at the school use the park during breaks, but are now actively encouraged to avoid the area.
BSSC principal Dale Pearce said the decision to stop monitoring the area was to ensure teachers were not placed in compromised situations.
“It was concerning for our staff, it’s really disappointing to see and hear what’s gone on down there in the past,” he said.
“The key concern has come from kids who aren’t at schools at all.
“It’s come down to wanting to move people away from that area, and about some people being aggressive towards staff.”
There have been several reports of fights involving members of the public in recent years, some of which required police attendance.
There was no specific instance that prompted the school to make the recent move, which came about after discussions between the school, police and the City of Greater Bendigo.
The school sent out a message in its newsletter explaining the decision to students and parents.
Mr Pearce said students were still able to spend their free time in the area.
“The advice from the police has been that if there’s a group there that you’d prefer not to have in that area, that they’ll eventually move on,” he said.
“This sort of thing does come and go.”
Bendigo Police will continue to monitor the area as part of routine work in the CBD.
Sergeant Rod Davis said while it was up to the school to make decisions regarding its own students, police would continue to monitor the area and other public places in the CBD.
“There has been some publicised issues of fighting, so obviously there are concerns about sending students down there,” he said.
“We will continue to carry out usual patrols and make sure there is a visible police presence in public areas in the CBD.”
Police investigated a brawl between two teenage girls in Rosalind Park in January this year, which occurred during school holidays. There have been several other reports of trouble in the park, but often by the time police arrive the group has dispersed.
Sergeant Davis said police would continue to keep in contact with the school to ensure staff and student safety was a priority in Rosalind Park.
