What Existing Problem Will Police Officer Address at WHS, Resident Asks

To members of the board of education:

I'm writing because I am concerned that the decision to assign a law enforcement officer, full time, to the Westfield High School, has not been sufficiently thought through, and before any decision is finalized, there should be further public consideration of a number of issues.

I am the father of three children in the Westfield school system.  Although I'm active in the kids' sports (I'm the head coach of a travel soccer team), I confess to being fairly removed from school issues. Like so many who live here, the school system's reputation was a key factor in our decision to move to Westfield several years ago. Juggling work and the kids' activities, I'm grateful to the board, superintendent, staff, and volunteers for allowing us parents to monitor news and other developments from afar.  

My lack of extensive involvement in the school system notwithstanding, it does so happen that I know a good deal about school safety issues: in my day job, I direct a large organization whose purpose includes assisting state and local governments across the US seeking to ensure their children go to school in a safe, welcoming environment. http://csgjusticecenter.org/  The US Attorney General and US Secretary of Education have tasked my organization with leading the development of recommendations that reflect the input of leading police chiefs, judges, school administrators, and health officials. We will present our findings to Congress and key officials in the Obama administration in January.

Given how much I trust leaders in the school system here to make decisions that are fiscally-prudent, data-driven, and informed by national best practices, I was surprised to hear from the friend of a friend, that the school board would be making a final decision today about what law enforcement presence to have in the school before demonstrating to parents, staff, and students that there has an extensive, careful, thoughtful public discussion about this issue. Don't get me wrong: I believe that law enforcement can play an important role in schools.  Just several days after the horrific shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, I traveled to the State Capitol in Hartford to meet with the governor's staff to discuss, among other things, under what conditions school-based police officers can be a key resource on the campus.  I also know from the research, however, that having a police officer on the school campus does not necessarily make that school safer, and there is the potential for many unintended consequences.   

The first question that any school system should be addressing is: what existing problem will assigning a police officer to the school address? Do kids and/or staff in the school feel unsafe? Has there been an increase in certain types of crimes reported on school campus? To the extent these are indeed issues in the school system — and the high school in particular --  I suspect it is news to most parents, and we would all benefit from learning more about these trends.  

If in fact school leaders have determined  (and it would be very unwise to exclude  parents, students, and staff alike in making such a determination) that problems exist that a school-based police officer would be uniquely capable of addressing, we need to hear the answers to other questions before we press ahead:    

1.  Does the officer report to the principal, to the police chief, or to officials in the school district office?  When/how will there be opportunities to discuss the officer's performance, and to whom are concerns about the officer raised, if/when such issues come up?
2.  If the goal is to have a police officer on campus whenever school is in session, what happens when the officer cannot report to work because he/she is sick, etc?
3.  Will the officer be armed?  Will training provided to the officer be consistent with the best practices for school based resource officers recommended by the US Department of Justice?
4.  When will the officer be called to respond to an incident involving student misconduct? Will misbehaviors that the school previously handled internally, such as an altercation in the hall, an allegation of inappropriate text messaging, or questions about use of prescription drugs, now be turned over to the school based police officer? 
5.  How do we as parents monitor changes in enforcement practices at the school that may reflect that the role of the officer has evolved into something different than we envisioned — such as a spike in ticket-writing for motor vehicle violations in the school parking lot?

I am told that part of the reason the school system is pressing ahead with this decision is that the position existed several years ago, and it was a success.  If that's indeed the case, I'm interested in knowing:  what problems have emerged since the position was eliminated and we can expect to see addressed as a result of this  six-figure investment? Indeed, I'm keenly aware of how we seriously we take the issue of keeping school costs in check, and how hard parents work to raise money for the school system that amounts to just a small fraction of what it would cost to pay for this position.

In sum, the decision of putting a police officer in our schools is a big one. Let's demonstrate to our kids, and to taxpayers, that when such decisions arise, we take the time to think them through carefully. If there is anything I can do to contribute to these deliberations, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would be pleased to help in whatever ways the board would find useful.

Sincerely,
Michael Thompson