By: Sehun Lee
Police officers in schools might be frowned upon but it may be argued that that their presence would more good than harm. Although many would argue that increased arrests, creation of criminal records for students as well as increased tasking of the justice system; their presence might avert serious crimes for example the columbine shooting(kupchik in reader). However the potential for racial oppression might increase. Having the police in schools is therefore more of a trade-off i.e. increased monitoring is good but it’s less likely that the police will prevent every possible crime that might occur, however it would seem that the pros outweigh the cons.
The police watch the mess halls, supervise students as they board their buses home, as well as general patrol. The patrols seek to remind the students of an existing force and help the schools manage the students. In addition to those roles, the police carry out investigations into minor offences around the school such as thefts, fights; follow up on cases and so on. It is important that the students be taught the law and inevitably the consequences of breaking laws, a role the police are most suited for. However counseling and teaching are not roles the police cherish. Most importantly, the police help in enforcing discipline within the school and the positive impact of these is that the students know that school rules are important. However there is an underside because the punishment meted for indiscipline might be too harsh (kupchik in reader)
Police presence benefits the administrators mostly because they can be advised on the seriousness of the crimes committed within the school. More importantly the police help to ensure that the schools’ safety initiatives are unquestionable, especially when parents are unpleased. Lastly the law enforcers help the administrators mitigate certain behaviors through appropriate harsh consequences’. Unfortunately, the police also create confusion within the school as to whose authority is greater; the administration or the police? Conflicts can arise if teachers feel that their roles are being undermined. The effect of this is that the teachers are continuously detached from their students as they just concentrate on teaching alone. The problem with this is that the police view the students as criminals, not as troubled teens being that they don’t know their backgrounds and that is the main cause of the strife between the police and the youth.
In the NYLS law review, growing up policed in the age of aggressive policing policies, the aggressive policing practices of the NYPD have been brought to light and their effect on the youth. The policies are based upon the broken windows theory; which maintains that surveillance and order in urban environments reduces crime. Most important is the stop, question and frisk strategy which is based on reasonable suspicion and was supported in 1968 in Terry v Ohio. Terry is intended to enable the police carry out their work with ease, but its effect on the youth welfare cannot go unnoticed. The stop and frisk has had adverse effects to immigrant youth and those of color, and especially after the aftermath of 9/11.
The police stops target the youth more, in fact the NYPD Stop, Question and Frisk dataset for the years 2008 and 2009 showed that most of the stops involved kids in their teens, mostly in high school. The reason for this stops are inarticulate and are based on a hunch, such as suspicion, furtive movements and this begs the question as to whether the stops are based on race, gender or even sexual orientation. The police argue that the main reason for stop and frisk is to minimize contraband among the youth. The case of the Guyanese youth who pulled his gun on the police would certainly support this claim (kaieteur news, 2012)
The PFJ survey shows that most of the police contact was reported outside school, and some reported inside school. The increased police presence and the zero tolerance policy in the streets have also found its way in the schools as part of the school safety campaign. The NYCLU reported that in the fall of 2008, 5055 school safety agents were working in NYC’s public schools and another 191 armed NYPD officers were assigned to bring about change in those schools with the highest crime rates (and also schools largely populated with poor youth of color). It is evident that as much as the police presence might be applauded, it has more negative effects than positive. A better approach would be integrating the police with the community so that the force appears friendlier than foe.
That was a lot of information! I like that you presented many pros and cons to the involvement of police in schools. I feel like the effects of police on the students might be more threatening to the learning environment than not. There is a certain image that comes with being a police officer and (depending on the neighborhood) this might not lead to the best outcomes. As for the staff, I agree that introducing police could help them to understand policy better, but I don't know if it'd make them unquestionable as you had said. Law enforcement and social control are in all institutions (especially school), but for me, I would lean more towards keeping the police more separate from schools since all I only remember having security guards who performed similar functions but were much more close and relatable to the kids.
ReplyDeleteAnita Wu
I agree with your last comment - that police presence would be a more negative than positive effect on the teens. Seeing how police already have suspicions towards colored males in this age group, I would imagine that these teens would then feel helpless as the police enter another sector of their lives. In the reading, there were teens who were doing lawful things that the police want them to do, such as walking home from school, and still being stopped and frisked for suspicion of drugs. Imagine if these kids then saw the same cop at their school every day; I would imagine that it would result in more negative feelings towards the police and a negative impact on their education. It would be better for the police to be more personally invested in the community instead of furthering the negative image of policing.
ReplyDelete"A better approach would be integrating the police with the community so that the force appears friendlier than foe." Interesting suggestion...I agree after reading your review of the articles that the negatives far outweigh the benefits. I chuckled at the title "Safety officer" to describe a school police officer. It brings me back to the commodification of security...of course they are not being bought and sold in the marketplace but that idea of safety first definitely drives the public discourse on protection. However, I wonder who is being protected and at what cost? In Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys, author Victor Rios describes this phenomena as the youth control complex, "it is composed of material and symbolic criminalization, (material) police harassment, exclusion from business and public recreation spaces, and the enforcement of zero-tolerance policies that lead to detention rooms, school suspensions, and incarceration. (Symbolic) surveillance, profiling, stigma, and degrading interactions that young people regularly endure." (40)It is evident from this viewpoint that what young boys are being subjected to have long-lasting effects and are carried further than the school grounds. I agree that a community approach must be taken but I think it will make little difference especially since some of these same policies exist within community centers. I suggest, that we take on a cultural approach before implementing policies and adopt a harm reduction model when considering safety in schools--we need to start asking why kids are fearful and whom and what do they fear?
ReplyDeleteI agree with your final statement that police presence in schools will likely have more of a negative than positive effect on youth. I wonder how students would react to having increased surveillance on campus. What would happen to security guards then? Would that job become obsolete? As other posters point out, I think that law enforcement should remain out of the school and should instead focus its efforts on integrating within their respective communities. It is important to shift people's view of law enforcement from being an obstacle to a useful resource.
ReplyDeleteI do agree that police presence at school is going a little overboard, but I do believe that strong surveillance is necessary, especially in high schools. On one side, we could argue that the youth needs to know they are respected and trusted in order to change, and strict surveillance or police presence undermines this aim. At the same time, however, there are many troubled individuals attending our schools that might cause much harm to our students. As a parent I can confidently say that I would prefer strict surveillance, but if we are to succeed and gain trust of our youth, we must treat them with respect and understanding and not solely with authority. I strongly believe that one on one repetitive counseling should be required for all students as it would allow, potentially, to identify the troubled individuals.
ReplyDeleteThe problem with police in school is that they create a school-to-prison pipeline for the black students they target. It is very easy to involve implicit bias in decisions to punish certain individuals, and this problem is exasperated when teachers, counselors, and cops hold prejudice against black males. This has been something plaguing the black community for decades now and needs to be stopped. Schools need to have more objective methods of punishment so as to avoid negatively affecting the black population. With the subjective decision-making in place, we see results that harm the progress and development of young black boys. They tend to not do as well in school as a result of being targeted for punishment and then this leads to high dropout rates for black males which in turn creates easier paths to prison through gangs and drug selling. It really starts with how we choose who we punish in schools. For the sake of the black youth, I hope change is brought about soon that creates more rational, reasonable, and objective criteria for punishment.
ReplyDeleteMy school had a community resource officer and I think having an officer that visits campus every other day, or even every day, during lunch is a good thing. Especially if the officer is specifically trained to interact with the kids in a positive way. They are not there to bust kids who are going to school. They have much bigger things they could be doing, but they come to schools because it is useful. I made use of that resource and it helped me learn about law enforcement and even led to me taking a Police Youth Academy course while in my years in high school. This can also be turned into a community policing detail instead of an oppressive surveillance one like many people think it is. Not to mention, putting officers who come from minority groups into schools that have large populations of minorities (on a national level) can further help develop community bonds. Clearly, zero tolerance is not something that should be part of this mission.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do agree that police presence at schools has gone a bit overboard, I also think that it can be useful in many situations. I know that we had a couple of police officers assigned to my high school and It turned out to be really helpful. They became very close with students and helped not only with crime problems, but also with starting a program designed to help students start working towards a career in law enforcement by allowing them to on ride alongs and job shadows at the local police department. While I can see how in some cases police presence can get out if hand with respect to crime prevention I think that in many instances it is actually a very positive influence and at least in my community I know it did lead to a more effective form of community policing by creating a link between schools, students, families, and the local police department.
ReplyDeleteSehun,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! Interesting topic and very well written.
I find it pretty disturbing that police presence at schools is found to be beneficial to the socialization of students. I think it is important that students learn about the policing system in class, where bias and racial profiling etc. can be identified before they maybe experience it on themselves. We have seen this in Cops, Teachers, and Counselors, that getting in trouble with the law enforcement as a teenager can worsen the behavior of the individual.
I feel like having community resource officers in schools is a good thing. You say you would rather have officers integrate into the community. To me, highschoolers make up a decent portion of the community, and having them make positive contact with police officers on a semi-regular basis can help them to foster a pro-police mentality. This mentality can lead to a life of committing less crime, or assisting the police when possible to help solve serious crimes.
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