Latest news with #SchoolResourceOfficers
CBC
26-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Parents, teachers protest bill that could bring back police officers in schools
A group of parents and teachers gathered in the rain outside the Ontario legislature on Thursday to protest a bill that could bring police officers back to public schools. Bill 33, Supporting Children and Students Act, 2025, would require school boards to implement a School Resource Officer program (SRO) "where such programs are available." The legislation, which would also give the education minister power to put school boards under supervision more easily, recently passed second reading. The Toronto District School Board (TDSB) cancelled its SRO program in 2017 after staff found that the presence of uniformed police officers stationed in schools caused some students to feel uncomfortable and intimidated. The TDSB declined to comment on the bill on Thursday. CBC reached out to the Ministry of Education for more details, but did not receive a response. Police in schools makes children less safe, professor says Bringing police officers back to schools is regressive and what schools need is better funding not police, speakers told the crowd. "Police in school programs make our children less safe and not more safe," Robyn Maynard, a parent of a child in a TDSB school and an assistant professor at University of Toronto, said. Maynard said studies of school resource officer programs have found that children, particularly Black and Indigenous children, are criminalized for things that would normally be dealt with through everyday discipline. Since the SRO program ended in Toronto schools, arrests of have gone down, particularly arrests of young Black people, Maynard said. "Removing police from schools was a crucial advance of racial progress that helped protect our children, that helped protect Black, Indigenous and racialized students, students living with disabilities, students living with mental health issues, and LGBTQI students from harm and from being stopped, searched, targeted and criminalized for everyday instances of young people being young people," Maynard said. "Police in school programs make our children less safe and not more safe." Maynard said the legislation "will criminalize children while undermining the democratic decision making of school boards. It's dangerous to Black, Indigenous and all children. Black students' lives matter, Indigenous students' lives matter. Students need support and not policing in their place of learning. And we are here to say that we will not go back." Sabreina Dahab, a trustee for the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board, said the legislation is not about safety but about control, surveillance and militarization of schools. In 2020, the board voted to revoke permission for Hamilton police to operate its SRO program in its public schools. "We can fight for and build an education system that is rooted in care, in equity and in dignity for all those and that does not involve cops with guns in our hallways," Dahab said. Reinstating program would involve review, police say Toronto police say there are currently no school resource officer programs running in any schools in the city. "We do not currently have SROs in schools, and any change to that status would require a comprehensive review of needs and resources as part of our regular, annual budget discussions," Stephanie Sayer, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, said in a statement on Thursday. "That said, meaningful youth engagement continues, and we remain committed to working collaboratively with our city and provincial partners to support school safety in Toronto. Many of our divisional and Neighbourhood Community Officers maintain strong relationships with schools across the city." The bill itself reads: "A requirement is added for boards to work with local police services to provide them with access to school premises, permit them to participate in school programs and implement school resource officer programs." Supporters of the legislation said the bill will enhance safety. Clayton Campbell, president of the Toronto Police Association, said the organization fully supports the reintroduction of police in Toronto schools. "The TPS School Resource Officer Program was a success in its day and the decision to cancel it was short-sighted and entirely influenced by a very loud and vocal group of advocates. We had overwhelmingly positive feedback from teachers, students, and parents because our officers were valuable members of the school community," Campbell said. "They took a leadership role in running programs such as anti-bullying, music, sports, community outreach initiatives, restorative justice circles, tutoring, and breakfast clubs. Every day we see younger and younger people getting involved in very violent crimes, if anything can be done to identify and redirect children and youth to better pathways, the safer everyone will be." But Alex Da Costa, a professor in the faculty of education at the University of Alberta, said extensive studies question the effectiveness of police in schools. "Especially in the United States, putting SROs in schools increases punitive forms of discipline, where principles and teachers will turn to the police officer in their school to help them with things that they might not have turned to them for in the past," Da Costa said. Da Costa said the legislation, along with criminalizing children for everyday conflicts, may prompt many students to stop coming to school entirely.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
CSPD gets donation of kits for autistic people in need
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) said last week, officers got a donation of 30 kits designed to support autistic individuals in moments when they need extra comfort and care. The Academy Optimist Club donated the kits to CSPD, and each kit includes: Sound-dampening headphones to help reduce overwhelming noise Dark glasses to minimize the glare of bright lights, especially during nighttime emergencies A snuggle blanket to provide soothing sensory input and promote relaxation A communication board with a dry-erase for non-verbal individuals, along with a picture board on the reverse side in both English and Spanish, to help facilitate communication between officers and the community CSPD said other items include a silicone bracelet, a variety of fidget toys, autism awareness stickers for vehicles and front doors, and information materials connecting families to other helpful resources. According to CSPD, the kits will be distributed to School Resource Officers and Community Response Team officers, ensuring they are available when needed most. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
09-06-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Local police services have different plans as province pushes return of cops to schools
As the Ontario government moves to bring police officers back into schools, two local police services share different reactions to the news. While the St. Thomas Police Service (STPS) is on board with the idea of bringing back School Resource Officer (SRO) programs, the London Police Service (LPS) expressed less interest. Nonetheless, both police services said officer engagement with students is an important priority. "I think that this is the right step forward," said Marc Roskamp, the St. Thomas chief of police. "[The new bill] would allow police officers back into the schools and the traditional school resource officer program." Roskamp's endorsement follows closely behind Education Minister Paul Calandra's announcement of the Supporting Children and Students Act, which aims to consolidate ministry oversight over school boards and requires the return of SRO programs if local police offer them. In 2021, the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), the largest in the region, paused its SRO program and, in 2024, resolved not to re-initiate it due to concerns from students over surveillance and feelings of unease. The STPS has been vocal in its dissatisfaction with removing SROs and has also reported an uptick in officers being called to schools. Following a firearm scare at a school in January, Roskamp told reporters those incidents have risen by 55 per cent since 2021, with officers now attending schools once every two days. In his eyes, the police are a clear part of the solution to the problem. "Presence is deterrence," Roskamp said. "Whether expected or unexpected, visits to schools might reduce those incidents of violence, and what we're talking about is assaults, sexual assaults, bullying, it's all happening." That's not to imply deterrence is the only goal of officers in schools, he added. "When we're in the schools, it's never been about enforcement or intelligence gathering. It's always been about high fives and smiles and interacting and engaging with youth." Roskamp said his police service is engaged with local school boards and is working to "re-establish, refresh and reimagine the role of the school resource officer." London Police's response to the question of whether they would offer an SRO program to the board included an effort to distance the force from official SRO programs. "We have moved away from the title 'School Resource Officer' and instead focus on broader community engagement," said Peter Testa, head of the LPS community mobilization and support branch. Testa said the LPS has worked closely with school boards in the city to support students, with the goal of promoting positive behaviour and enhancing safety through "mutual respect." He also said the LPS supports boards without the use of an SRO program "by having our officers attending and presenting when requests are made." Regardless of the intentions as stated by police, some students remain opposed to police presence in schools in general. One of those students is Shivani Vimal, who is in grade 11 at the TVDSB's Lord Dorchester Secondary School. "I firmly believe that police officers do not belong in schools. I believe there's a time and place for security personnel, but schools are spaces for learning, growth and trust, and that's just not the place for police officers," she said. A common thread in opposition to officers in schools, especially as stated in the past by previous TVDSB student trustees, is a concern that students from marginalized communities could be made doubly uncomfortable by police presence. "I just feel that it would harm BIPOC students, and it would impact them a lot more than people think," Vimal said. Vimal said the opinions of her peers seem to be divided. However, the prevailing thought is that students "don't want to feel like they're being watched. And they also believe that police officers in schools might just escalate situations." She said she'd rather see funding for social workers and counsellors as a solution, but if the police do return, the process needs to be student-centric and collaborative.
