Police officers will not be returning to elementary and high schools in the London region.
Thames Valley District School Board trustees voted 7-6 on Tuesday night not to move forward with a pilot program that would have brought police back into schools for community building purposes.
The original school resource officer (SRO) program was paused in 2021 due to concerns the presence of uniformed officers in schools can be triggering and harmful to some students, particularly those from marginalized communities. A review conducted of the program at a cost of more than $65,000 made a number of recommendations on ways a pilot project to reintroduce police into schools could be carried out. It suggested placing an officer at one high school and its feeder elementary schools. That officer would visit elementary schools an average of once or twice a month and be in the high school once or twice a week.
"We just had a review of our existing SRO program and we know from that review, clearly, that those programs harm BIPOC youth. That came out in the review and it is clear in every single review of similar programs. Even though this is a revamped version, it still is a version of having police in our schools for non-emergency purposes," Trustee Marianne Larsen said at Tuesday's board meeting.
She went on to state that there was no evidence the new pilot program would benefit students.
“At the end of the day our most important role is to support student well-being and achievement,” said Larsen. "We need to listen to the students and what they have told us and that is that they have been harmed by these programs. They feel trauma when police are in schools. I cannot vote in support of bringing in any kind of program at all that would cause harm to our students, particularly those who are already the most marginalized in our system.
Student Trustee Fred Nicholas said that students he has spoken to on the issue have expressed apprehension over the possibility of bringing police back into the school system.
"It is clear to me and it's a reflected idea of mine that police officers in schools can put students on edge and make them fearful of their actions, whether or not they are of legal capacity," said Nicholas.
The school resource program was established in 2008 as a way of building positive relationships with students and families in the school community. SROs were used to help teach students about drug abuse, online safety, and healthy relationships.
"I think not allowing police to establish relationships with students at a young age creates a disadvantage," said Trustee David Cripps. "I understand that the previous SRO program has caused harm, I understand that there is a risk any new program we introduce may cause harm..... If we put up a wall and say 'we can't have police near the school or near the students' I feel we are doing a disservice because we aren't even trying."
Trustee Meagan Ruddock argued the board needs to embrace opportunities for community engagement and relationship building that offer an opportunity to break a cycle of fear.
"I do believe it is our responsibility to provide safe learning environments that encourage healthy relationships between our youth and community partners, including our local policing agencies," said Ruddock. "Relationships built on trust through positive interactions and conversations like those that could be had through the SRO program so that a uniformed officer is seen positively and does not cause or create anxiety and fear."
The lengthy debate over the pilot program ended with Board Chair Beth Mai, and Trustees Larsen, Lori-Ann Pizzolato, Christian Sachs, Leroy Osbourne, Sherri Moore, and Carol Antone voting against police in schools. Trustees Cripps, Ruddock, Sheri Polhill, Leanne Hopkins, Bruce Smith, and Arlene Morell were in favour.
