Get the facts

In 2009 the school resource officer program, which places cops in Toronto schools to protect and make connections with students, was being celebrated.

First, a study found the 22 schools assigned a police officer under the program were reporting a drop in suspensions and criminal charges against students. Then a cop who was beaten up as he tried to defend a pupil was hailed by students as a hero.

But now the program, which places 36 officers at 75 schools across the city, has come under increasing criticism and is on the verge of being axed. In fact, it came close to being cut on Tuesday after some teachers and school workers criticized it at a meeting of the Toronto Police Services Board.

The board decided to put off the decision until next month’s meeting only after police Chief Mark Saunders questioned whether the civilian board was exceeding its authority by telling him where to place his officers. The board is supposed to confine itself to policy, leaving daily police operations up to the chief.

Saunders may have a point on that, but any decision about the future of the program should be based on its merits, not on a turf war.

Which is why Mayor John Tory’s proposal for an independent review of the school officer program is the right move. In fact, Chief Saunders was already discussing that idea with researchers at Ryerson University.

Saunders should ask for a review and the board should hold off addressing the issue until results are in.

The program has never been without controversy. But the program was welcomed by some schools after the shooting death of 15-yearold Jordan Manners at C.W. Jefferys Collegiate Institute in 2007, as well as a report on school safety that revealed disturbing levels of violence and fear in some schools.

Still, a lot has changed since the program was launched in 2008, and since it was last reviewed in 2011. Indeed, rather than creating a safe environment for students, one critic at the police board meeting said it does just the opposite.

Another said having armed, uniformed officers in schools criminalizes students from an early age, creating a “school-to-prison pipeline,” and has a disproportionate impact on undocumented students and racialized youth.

These concerns are valid reasons to evaluate the program nine years after it was launched. But only when an independent review has been conducted can the police board make an informed decision on whether it should continue. The board should get the facts before it makes up its mind.

Concerns have been raised about the school resource officer program