- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 27/Aug 03:33

From school to prison

COME September, there will be cops in some, but not all, schools. That’s the first issue with the government’s move to fulfil its general election promise of stationing officers full-time outside classrooms. The move will provide an immediate feeling of safety and security and might serve as a potent deterrent to youth violence. But it’s not a solution. The police say they are assigning 95 special reserve officers to schools deemed “high-risk.” It is understood that 60 secondary and 20 primary schools will be covered, based on suspension data and what the teachers’ association, TTUTA, describes as the identification of “hot spot” areas. As pragmatic as this selective approach might seem, such a basis for deployment risks being punitive. It targets communities already grappling with stigma. More damagingly, it sends a negative signal to students. Instead of stemming violence, it could normalise it and become a self-fulfilling prophecy. The SRPs, who worryingly come out of a brand-new batch of 244 officers, have undergone what the police describe as “specialised school-oriented training.” Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander has urged them not only to maintain law and order but also to set about “guiding, protecting and inspiring” as mentors. But it is difficult to assess how prepared these fresh recruits are for the pedagogical aspect of their assignment; we have no history of this kind of initiative. That points to risks. TTUTA strongly opposes the presence of armed officers in schools. We agree. According to association president Martin Lum Kin, “The sight of firearms in an educational setting can be deeply unsettling. It creates an atmosphere of fear rather than one of learning and growth. We must be careful not to criminalise the school environment.” This issue of criminalisation is the bigger danger. To put cops in schools is to open the door to the creation of a “school-to-prison pipeline.” Studies suggest more police involvement in classrooms generates more reports of wrongdoing, not fewer. There is also a tendency for already marginalised groups to be singled out for even greater scrutiny. According to one 2025 paper by Trinidadian University of Kent researcher Dylan De Gourville, in the Caribbean, “factors such as race, background, appearance, and area of residence are perceived to influence law enforcement conduct and treatment toward specific young people.” This is where proper training, inclusive of trauma-informed perspectives, assumes even greater significance. Relying on stationing cops at schools alone is dangerous. The government should also move forward with introducing universal screening, parental support and counselling. It should create pathways for school re-entry or employment for dropouts. Meanwhile, with even adults distrustful of law enforcement, the police themselves should work on mending damaged bridges with communities if they hope to inspire youths in schools. The post From school to prison appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.