bus terminal has been questioned by Police, along with three other youths said to have been involved in the incident.

And Government and Police will step up efforts to prevent similar incidents around the Washington Street terminal.

But Police Commissioner Mr. Lennett Edwards also moved to quell fears that an organised gang was terrorising people around the bus depot, and said the number of youths who attack a 16-year-old Saltus Grammar School student probably fewer than the 15 originally reported.

"Our investigation thus far does not show gang involvement,'' said Mr.

Edwards, who emphasised that his use of the word `gang' referred to groups like the Crips and Bloods of Los Angeles.

Sixteen-year-old Rajee Shakir was reportedly set upon by a group of youths as he and a friend were walking through the terminal. His attackers were said to have ripped his clothes, pulled his hair and burned him with cigarettes.

On Monday his father, Mr. Cromwell Shakir, complained that Rajee was a victim of a gang violence and that more should be done to bring order to the bus terminal, which has been the site of disturbances in the past.

Mr. Shakir met with Education Minister the Hon. Gerald Simons and Mr. Edwards yesterday to express his concerns about community safety as well as that of schoolchildren who use the terminal.

"It is my hope that more people will bring such cases to the attention of authorities,'' said Mr. Simons yesterday.

Mr. Simons said there were "cliques and posses'' on the Island, but no youth gangs equivalent to those found in the US.

He said bullying among school children "is nothing new'', he did express concern over the increasingly vicious nature of local child-on-child attacks.

Weapons such as baseball bats, crash helmets and knives are being used more frequently he said, showing that many youngsters were choosing to "reject the mores of society as a whole''.

Because "fear of retribution'' often stops victims from reporting such incidents, Mr. Simons said he was looking into Mr. Shakir's call for a hotline.

Mr. Edwards also said a forum to address issues concerning the relationship between Police and the Island's youth is already in the works. He said the meeting is being planned for early in the new year.

"We are trying to meet the young people half way,'' he said. "And we encourage parents to get involved as well.'' Both Mr. Simons and Mr. Edwards said it was unfair to expect the school system and the Police to saddle all responsibility for instructing young people on proper social behaviour.

Mr. Simons said: "When there are stronger family ties, a child is less likely to be anti-social.'' A man who telephoned The Royal Gazette yesterday and identified himself only as "a concerned father of a student'' complained that Police response to bus terminal problems was "totally inadequate''.

"Why they sit in their car around the corner is beyond me,'' the man said.

Mr. Edwards said this was a "damned if you do, damned if you don't'' situation.

"If Police are present (at the bus terminal), we will get a few people asking: `If nothing is happening, then why are the officer antagonising the young people',''.

The Mr. Edwards said to his knowledge, no special patrols have been required in the area since the start of the school year.

"It has not been as bad as it once was,'' he said.