Reactions mixed after Edmonton Public Schools votes to reinstate school resource officers
A group that represents students across the province says it opposes the Edmonton Public School's decision to bring back the school resource officer (SRO) program.
The board voted 5-3 in favour of resuming the program on Tuesday afternoon.
The program had been in public schools until the board made the decision to suspend it in September 2020 because of concerns about the impact on racialized and marginalized students.
Thirty-two people spoke at the meeting on Tuesday before the decision.
"The decision yesterday is deeply disappointing, because there has been multiple years of information being gathered about the harms of having school resource officers inside public schools," Wing Li of Support our Students Alberta (SOS) told CTV News Edmonton on Wednesday.
"Many students who we have also spoken with find police in schools to be a perpetration of harm to them."
She's concerned bringing back SROs won't actually address the problems causing safety issues in classrooms.
"Parents that aren't in school think that it's a good solution," she said.
"It only serves for the perception of safety and not actually solving the root problems."
Li says she was concerned about the lack of alternatives discussed at Tuesday's meeting.
"We know that there have been provincial cuts to funding, so schools have lost counsellors, they have lost wraparound support workers who are not police."
"These adjacent personnel could be added back to schools with the money that they're allotting to the SRO program."
Dan Jones is the chair of Justice Studies at Norquest College and a former police inspector with the Edmonton Police Service who oversaw the SRO program for four years.
He says many SROs go above and beyond in their work with students.
"People don't realize there's a lot of times the SROs are working in schools and not wearing a uniform, they're not carrying their gun, they're wearing tracksuits. They're coaching sports," he commented on Wednesday.
He suggested most students who had experienced the SRO program felt the experience was worthwhile.
"The vast majority of students and parents that had the school resource officers involved actually liked it. And that was across the board, whether it was BIPOC communities, the LGBTQ community, it was all communities like having the SROs."
He says the program is all about building relationships, and that can make students safer.
"Sometimes the SROs have relationships that they will get that information. Someone will be like, 'Something that is going to happen.' So you have an intelligence piece that sometimes prevents things from happening."
He also says those relationships can stop kids from ending up in jail.
"The police officers get to see the whole story of these youths. You get to know them, you get to have a relationship with them, you're not just dealing with them in that crisis moment."
"Because you have that relationship, you want to work with them to help them through something rather than punish them."
The details of how the SRO program will look when it resumes are still unclear, but the board voted Tuesday to give the superintendent authority over it.
Edmonton Catholic Schools has maintained its SRO program.
There are currently 13 SROs working in local Catholic schools.
With files from CTV news Edmonton's Nav Sangha
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW Pack the macaroni necklace: Lessons on evacuations from a woman who fled one of Canada's worst wildfires
Carol Christian had 15 minutes to evacuate her home during the Fort McMurray wildfires in 2016. She ended up losing the house and everything inside. Now, she wants to share the lessons she learned.
Scheffler detained by police at PGA Championship for not following orders after traffic fatality
Masters champion Scottie Scheffler was detained by police Friday morning on his way to the PGA Championship, with stunning images showing him handcuffed as he was led to a police car. ESPN reported he failed to follow police orders during a pedestrian fatality investigation.
Ontario sees first measles death in more than a decade after young child dies
A young child has died of measles in Ontario, marking the first death in the province from the highly contagious virus in more than 10 years, a Public Health Ontario report confirms.
Think twice before sharing 'heartbreaking' social media posts, RCMP warn
Mounties in B.C. are urging people to think twice before sharing "heartbreaking posts" on social media.
'Ugly produce': One way Canadians are shrinking rising grocery bills
As the cost of food in Canada has risen, grocery shoppers are looking at ways to reduce their grocery bill, and more are choosing price over beauty, turning to companies that deliver so-called 'misfit' produce at a fraction of the cost.
Vatican revamps norms to evaluate visions of Mary as it adapts to Internet age and combats hoaxers
The Vatican on Friday radically reformed its process for evaluating alleged visions of the Virgin Mary, weeping statues and other seemingly supernatural phenomena, insisting on having the final say in whether the events are worthy of popular devotion.
Wildfires are dampening against cool, rainy weather, but there's plenty left to contain
An opportune system of cool, wet weather Friday is dampening the spread of wildfires across Western Canada, but there's still plenty of work for responders and residents alike.
Jessica Biel hopes to normalize the conversation around menstruation with a new children's book
Jessica Biel is the author of a new children’s book focused on destigmatizing and normalizing the conversation around menstruation.
5 secrets to moving better and preventing avoidable injury
Countless people seek emergency care for back pain, muscle strains and similar injuries resulting from 'moving wrong' during mundane, everyday tasks such as bending over to tie shoes, lifting objects or doing household chores.