School Resource Officers and the School-to-Prison Pipeline
Abstract
Currently, there is a strong debate on whether School Resource Officers (SROs) should be removed from Edmonton schools. SROs are often not given specialized training to work in schools or with youth—they rely on basic police training. Illustrating this point, some students in Edmonton have claimed that officers at their schools view students as potential threats and criminals rather than as young students. The debate to remove SROs is part of the growing conversation around Black Lives Matter and police brutality. Many argue that SROs extend police involvement, discrimination, and brutality into the lives of BIPOC youth and children, which brings them into—and keeps them entrenched in— the criminal justice system.
Notes
Open access: Yes
Community organizations: Edmonton Social Planning Council
Future research / gaps identified: n/a
Integration timeline: not defined
Key findings:
BIPOC students are disproportionately targeted by SROs in schools, similar to police racial profiling in other settings. Stereotypes that claim Black and Indigenous people are violent or dangerous may be just one way that SROs are led to perceive these students in negative ways.
When students feel targeted, unsafe, scared, or harassed due to the presence and/or actions of SROs, they are less likely to attend school.
SROs are arguably introducing more criminal justice involvement into the lives of students, as misbehaviours that would have previously been addressed by principles or teachers are now being addressed by police, and can possibly result in a criminal charge.
Key populations: K – 12 students in Edmonton schools
Key recommendations:
Conduct a formal, rigorous review of the SRO program in Edmonton that includes the voices of groups that are directly impacted by SROs.
Location: Edmonton, AB