Report clears way for police resource officers to return to London schools

A team that led a nearly three-year review of the school resource officer (SRO) program in London-area school boards says it supports a revamped pilot program for community policing in schools, if they follow a set of "holistic recommendations" laid out by the team.

The lengthy review's final report will go to a Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) committee meeting Tuesday, where trustees will hear six recommendations that could determine the future of SROs in schools. 

They suggest that: 

• Schools need to focus on their own work on addressing racism, specifically microaggressions.
• Policing needs to implement a relational approach and have more Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) representation in community policing, in addition to police in schools.
• Relationship building needs to happen in communities and not just schools.
• Parents and caregivers should also be involved in providing feedback.
• Clarity on what police officers in schools would be doing is essential.

A leadership committee made up of community leaders from marginalized groups, senior officials from TVDSB and London District Catholic School Board, and police services in London, Elgin, Oxford, and Middlesex counties, prepared the report in consultation with students and their families from these communities. 

It advises that if all parties agree to this pilot, there needs to be deep care in how this is implemented moving forward, as many of the young people who participated, especially from BIPOC communities, were skeptical.  

BIPOC students hesitant but willing

"Students will only participate if these six holistic recommendations are followed as it is their olive branch to the systems. They are stepping in with hesitation, hoping that trust will be built and that what they have shared will be respected, honoured, and implemented," the report said.

"For this reason, it is essential that the right places, the right people, the right approach be taken in order for the opportunity to succeed."

School board trustees were unable to comment ahead of Tuesday's meeting. 

A review of the region's SRO program began in 2020, and the program was paused in September 2021 while further review of the program was conducted. An initial report from the Centre of Organizational Effectiveness, consisting of about 300 pages, found that some students and parents wanted the program scrapped.

This new program's purpose is to ensure cultural safety for BIPOC and marginalized student group. The committee wants officers to take a trauma-informed approach and to focus on community engagement and communication. 

An SRO's main role is to build trusting relationships with BIPOC youth, their families and community, and to focus on prevention through education and meeting with students, along with addressing and responding to risks of threats and violence, the report said.

The role of an officer in the new program is not to address school discipline and behaviour because that's the role of school staff. Students don't want officers to "patrol the halls" or have staff tell them they need to behave because a police officer is in the building, it added.

"Considering opportunities for officers to engage with youth, it is important to collaborate with youth on deciding where and how the officers participate. Youth have also recommended that the officer does not always engage with the same group so that youth will not feel targeted."

Once the report is presented to trustees, they will decide if it should be brought to the board for a decision. The success of this program also depends on if police partners agree to the recommendations.