Victoria-area municipalities call for return of police in schools

Three municipalities in the Greater Victoria area have passed motions to ask the region's school district to bring back a modified version of a program that previously had police officers in schools.

On Monday night, Oak Bay's council approved a motion from Coun. Hazel Braithwaite to have Mayor Kevin Murdoch write a letter to the district asking it to redefine the program and bring officers back, joining similar motions in Victoria and Saanich.

The School Police Liaison Officer (SPLO) program was terminated by the Greater Victoria School District in May 2023.

The district, which operates 28 elementary schools, 10 middle schools and seven secondary schools for around 20,000 students in Victoria, Esquimalt, Oak Bay, View Royal and a portion of Saanich, said that its SPLO program did "not best meet the needs" of its students.

In 2021 there were 12 SLOs in schools across the district assisting with education and drug prevention, school safety drills and addressing violence, according to a survey about the program.

Vancouver cancelled its program in 2021 after scrutiny over the potential harm officers in schools could cause some racialized students, but a modified version was reinstated in September.

Safety concerns

Braithwaite said she has heard from parents and Oak Bay's police chief that there is sextortion, bullying, drugs and gangs happening in schools, going unchecked.

"It's proving that there are issues now because those police liaison officers are not there," said Braithwaite.

Victoria's motion passed 5-4 at council last week. It was tabled by Marg Gardiner who said she's also hearing about problems in schools, which she believes police could address if they were present.

"It's important that we separate ideological positions from those who are actually responsible for kids and the people responsible for kids are parents and that's mostly who I've heard from," she said.

Victoria Police Chief Del Manak appealed to district trustees at a school board meeting in February arguing the program should be returned to address a rise in crime at schools.

In a post on the force's website, Manak said he had officers ready to be deployed to schools and suggested the board strike a committee of stakeholders to update the program.

In early March Saanich Mayor Dean Murdock penned a letter to the district and local First Nations, municipalities and provincial cabinet members saying council recognized "the sensitivity of the program for some students and families. 

"Their concerns must be managed with respect and care," it read.

Vancouver's return

A school liaison officer (SLO) program returned to Vancouver last fall under Mayor Ken Sim, who made it a campaign promise. Officers now have less formal uniforms, smaller less exposed firearms and undergo specific training to better understand the student populations they are working with.

In a statement, Vancouver's school board said since the revised program was reinstated, "all SLOs have completed anti-racism training and are using trauma-informed approaches.

"Anecdotally we have heard positive feedback from school communities," it read.

The Vancouver School Board is planning for a formal review of the program later this fall.

In 2021 B.C. Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender released a study of policing and racialized people and said SLO programs should be terminated until they could be better studied.

"Do the pros outweigh the cons, should we have these programs, do they actually keep our students safer?," she said this week.

Govender is concerned policy makers are now rushing to either return SLO programs or promote their return without proper evidence. She says the research she called for has still not been conducted.

"I'm honestly mystified. It is beyond time to do this research, we're having these huge public policy debates based on a lack of evidence," she said.

Victoria psychologist Lisa Gunderson, who has volunteered with committees regarding SLOs in Victoria schools and continues to promote their return, says the district has good data in its 2021 survey that could be expanded on, but worries that the use of data in the SLO debate from other jurisdictions may not translate well to Victoria's situation.

"It is imperative that we do do research," she said. "I think it's imperative that we use data that's recent, current, collected in the municipalities that are impacted."

City councils have no jurisdiction over school districts, so while they can ask for action on issues from them, there is no requirement for districts to act.

The Greater Victoria School District said in an email to CBC News that it would not comment on the letters from councils. Its next board meeting is April 29.