Police won't be back in public elementary, high schools after close trustee vote

After a tight vote and long debate, trustees at London's largest school board decided not to introduce a pilot program that would have brought police officers back into schools after a three-year hiatus. 

Police presence in schools is likely to continue evoking fear and anxiety among students from Black, Indigenous and other equity-deserving groups, and there isn't enough evidence to suggest the potential program will benefit students, said Thames Valley District School Board trustees who were not in favour of it.  

The proposed pilot intended to build trusting relationships between London police officers and youth, with a focus on preventing crime and violence through education, and to support staff in responding to school incidents, according to a report from superintendent Dennis Wright. 

"Our role is to support student wellbeing and achievement. Our role isn't necessarily to build relations with local police forces," said trustee Marianne Larsen, who voted against the pilot.

The school board paused its school resource officer (SRO) program in 2021 and hired a committee to review it — at a cost of more than $65,000. Other Ontario school boards, including Toronto and Kitchener, have permanently ended their cops-in-schools programs. 

Both the review and a school board report noted that students, especially those from marginalized communities, felt apprehensive at the idea of seeing police officers in schools. 

"We just had a review of our existing SRO program and we know from that review, clearly, that those programs harm BIPOC youth and even though this is a revamped version, it still is a version of having police in our schools for non-emergency purposes," Larsen said 

Trustees who supported the pilot said not allowing youth to build relations with police can create a disadvantage, and that a revamped program can foster positive change. 

"It is my opinion that as a school board, we are doing a disservice to our students and our community partners if we do not embrace these opportunities for community engagement and relationship building," said trustee Meagan Ruddock.

"Relationships [are] built on trust, through positive interactions and conversations like those that could've been had through the SRO program, so that a uniformed officer is seen positively and doesn't cause or create anxiety and fear."

Had the program been approved, elementary schools would get an average of one or two visits per month, whereas high schools could see police interactions once or twice every week. 

Parent relieved at decision

The board's decision came as a sigh of relief to Patricia Marshal-DeSutter, whose 11-year-old queer child attends a Thames Valley school. She believes police officers can further intimidate already vulnerable students, she said. 

"I really want to believe that it could be good and I think there's always room for interactions with first responders, but I don't think the role of them in schools is going to have a positive impact," said Marshal-DeSutter.

Also speaking against the pilot, student trustees shared the concerns of their peers that having police in schools would foster an environment of fear and intimidation.

"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 they are of legal capacity," said Frederick Nicholas, an Indigenous student trustee.

Trustees voted 7-6, with board chair Beth Mai's vote against the program solidifying the decision.