Police chief defends cops in school programs
OTTAWA — With a “no cops in schools” campaign under way in Ottawa, police Chief Peter Sloly has come out swinging in defence of a program he calls his department’s most important community partnership.
Sloly and two of his officers appeared before the OttawaCarleton District School Board Tuesday to explain and defend the role of the 24 school resource officers (SRO) who work with 371 schools across the city.
Critics say the program should end because some racialized students fear police or are intimidated by them.
The debate is taking place in the broader context of anger over incidents of police violence and the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Sloly acknowledged that some students distrust police, but said the SRO program is part of the solution to improve relationships and fight systemic racism.
The board held several emotional debates about the SROs before deciding to hold a public consultation. Two trustees and some community groups that appeared before the board said the program upholds systemic racism, contributes to the over-policing of racialized communities and is part of a “school-to-prison” pipeline.
Ottawa’s English Catholic and French public school boards are also reviewing the SRO program with a focus on improving, not ending, it.
Sloly called the 20-year-old SRO program “the most important partnership that the Ottawa Police Service has in civil society.”
“We are very proud of the Ottawa school resource officer program, proud of its history, proud of its current status, but even in that pride recognize there is always need to change,” he told trustees.
The police service is examining the SRO program as part of its review of all major programs and policies, Sloly said.
When asked about the “school to prison” pipeline, Sloly said most reasonable people agree there is systemic racism in all institutions, including the police force.
The goal of the SRO program is to improve relationships between police, students, staff and the community, he said. The program can be “the process around which we address the connection between our two institutions and our respective efforts of ridding our institutions of systemic racism and any other form of systemic discrimination.”
Trustees were provided a list of typical things done by an SRO: making presentations to students about cyberbullying and safety; traffic education and enforcement around schools; helping locate missing children; helping youths “scrub” explicit images from the internet that have been shared without their consent; investigating reports of suspicious people or dangerous animals on school grounds; participating in sports activities including coaching; and giving presentations to parents about cannabis and vaping.
Each officer is assigned 20 to 24 schools. They do not “walk the halls” to look for criminal activity, said Supt. Jamie Dunlop, who is in charge of the program.
SROs respond to complaints of criminal activity at schools, but it’s a minor part of their job, he said.
On average between 2017 and 2019, SROs had 7,062 annual interactions at schools, according to data Dunlop presented. Of that total, 324 interactions resulted in criminal investigation reports, and of those reports, 63 resulted in someone being charged.
Officers are trained in diversion programs that keep youth out of the criminal justice system, said Dunlop.
Trustee Lyra Evans asked Sloly to respond to “the reports by numerous marginalized OCDSB students about targeted violence due to race by SROs, sexual misconduct by SROs, and a general atmosphere of fear and discomfort by students from police officers’ presence in Ottawa schools.”
Sloly urged anyone with knowledge of misconduct by SROs to report the incidents to the police, the independent police directorate or the school board and he pledged his full support for any investigations.
“The general sense of mistrust, disquiet, nervousness around policing? We completely understand that and take that absolutely seriously,” he said. The force is working to improve relationships between police and marginalized communities across the city, he said.