06-03-2025
Town of Brookline, Massachusetts mulls bringing armed police officers back to schools
Brookline police are considering reinstating school resource officers (SRO), after the district eliminated the program during a national reckoning with police brutality a few years ago.
Program eliminated in 2021
"We decided back in 2021 to eliminate the program because we were very concerned about a lot of the national data that indicated that students of color, as well as students with disabilities are more likely to end up being criminalized when police are in schools," said Raul Fernandez, the Executive Director of Brookline For Racial Justice and Equity.
Fernandez is a parent in the district who agreed with the unanimous vote by the school committee to get rid of armed police in the school district.
He fears for the safety of his child in the presence of police saying, "It's absolutely not necessary and it also puts my kid at risk."
"Not a law enforcement role"
But according to Brookline police, the purpose of school resource officers is to promote school safety and to enhance the relationships between students and officers.
"It's not a law enforcement role," said Paul Campbell, the deputy superintendent at the Brookline Police Department. "It's almost like a teacher, student type role," he said.
According to Campbell, SROs are an integral part of the learning experience. Before the role was eliminated, officers taught classes on various topics including internet safety and teen dating violence. But Fernandez says the benefit of those classes don't outweigh the overall risk.
A final decision to reinstate school resource officers will come from the school committee. Brookline's superintendent told WBZ they will revisit the topic in the coming months.
