- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 09:33

No to police officers in schools

THE EDITOR: Reports of serious incidents of violent behaviour, perpetrated by students upon other students, within and outside the school compound, have, understandably, aroused condemnation, shock, anger and fear within the community and, not unexpectedly, has precipitated a political response. The prime minister has spoken out strongly for a justice system approach through the courts. Her view has found traction with TTUTA and the Police Commissioner. Recently, advocacy has been overtaken by action and I have read, with some dismay, of Government’s intention to have police placed in certain schools, come September. My fears were not allayed by the announcement that these police officers have received special training. I could not help but wonder about the components of that training and the qualifications and experience of the trainers. At times, training relayed through the media, contradict international principles. Trainers need to be cognisant not only of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), but also, the General Comments of the UN Child Rights Committee, which elucidate CRC articles. Persons working with children, who are deemed delinquent, should also have studied the UN Guidelines for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency, the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice, the UN Rules for the Protection of Juveniles Deprived of their Liberty, the Guidance Note of the UN Secretary General on the Approach to Justice for Children, our child laws, the Judges’ Rules for Children, 2016 and the National School Code of Conduct. They need to continually upgrade their knowledge and skills. A number of questions come to mind. Given the limited time before the implementation of the new policy, have the police officers assigned to schools received sufficient training in the areas listed above? Who were involved in the identification, recruitment and training of these officers to determine their suitability to work in a school environment? What research guided the identification of their necessary characteristics? Who will monitor the implementation and impact of these officers? Do the experienced school social workers have a role to play here? Former US president Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing (2015) recommended that “police departments develop a culture that increases officers’ positive and non-law enforcement interactions with youth, while also limiting police involvement in school discipline.” Do our police officers possess such a culture? In the United States, assigning police officers, termed school resource officers (SROs) to schools, has become a popular practice used to curb crime and school misbehaviour. Research has shown that involving police in school misbehaviour is a leading cause of the school to prison pipeline. Christopher Mallet, in his Research Paper, titled, School Resource (Police) Officers in Schools: Impact on Campus Safety, Student Discipline, and Learning, states: “Ongoing research finds police presence in schools either has limited to no impact on school safety, though disparately has increased school-based arrests and referrals to the juvenile courts across a number of measures.” Mallet’s research also found that SROs have often reinforced zero tolerance policies and utilisation of more formal methods of discipline while typically not decreasing violence or victimisation on campuses, and they reinforce the school to juvenile justice system pathways…that they increased student arrests on school grounds between 300-500 percent annually since 2000, a majority for non- serious offences – unruly behaviour, disobedience, or status offences. He suggested that this may be due in part because most officers are trained to address criminal adult behaviour and have a limited understanding of issues related to child development, education or adolescent psychology. Drawing on others’ research, he surmised, “Many school-based officers find that they have to unlearn past trainings and experiences in order to work effectively with middle and high school students. (Kupchik, 2010 Na& Gottfredson2011 and Thurau &Wald 2010.) The Education Ministry of the former government conducted a pilot project and subsequently issued a report, stating: “Restorative Practices have been implemented at 11 schools of docus since 2023. Facilitators were hired for these schools, with training and sensitisation done for administration and staff. "At the participating schools, staff and students have expressed the positive effect of these practices on students' ability to resolve conflict and manage their emotions. The data from these schools also show significant decreases in violent infractions.” Trinidad and Tobago included restorative justice processes in our child justice laws in the form of peer resolution. Implementation of restorative practices, such as circles and restorative justice conferences, provide a more successful outcome than the introduction of police in our schools. Research studies show police in schools do not achieve intended results but criminalise problems formerly dealt with by school personnel and increase the inequities suffered by already disadvantaged students. Thus, having police in schools is a bad idea that should be scrapped. HAZEL THOMPSON-AHYE Former Independent Senator The post No to police officers in schools appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.