“Now is the perfect time to reimagine the SRO program,” says Richmond police Sgt. Stacy Rogers, who supervises the department’s school resource officers. (Photo by Jay Paul)
While the pandemic has halted in-person instruction in many schools, calls to limit policing spotlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement could shape how safety is maintained when students return.
Child advocates say the trend of placing school resource officers (SROs) in middle and high schools has hastened the school-to-prison pipeline: “zero tolerance” discipline policies that funnel students of color toward the criminal justice system, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
According to a 2015 report from the Center for Public Integrity (CPI), Black students and those with disabilities were referred to police in Virginia schools at higher rates than their peers despite representing smaller segments of student populations. Valerie Slater, executive director for Virginia advocacy organization RISE for Youth, says the practice ignores how trauma, poverty and other issues contribute to behaviors.
“If we know what’s wrong, we [shouldn’t] attempt to fix public health problems with police officers,” Slater says. “You don’t police away issues created by [fewer resources].”
The issue has prompted area school divisions to reexamine agreements with police departments to prevent officer overreach. Amid last summer’s protests, Richmond Public Schools (RPS) Superintendent Jason Kamras recommended that officers be removed from schools and called for added mental health services after a virtual student forum on policing.
But some, like 4th District Richmond School Board member Jonathan Young, worry that removing officers would threaten school safety and raise concerns ranging from fights to active shooter situations.
Nationally, the rise of school resource officers has been linked to increased fear of school shootings following the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. But despite more officers, school shootings have risen in the last two decades. SROs also may not be a significant deterrent of school shootings. In over 200 school shootings analyzed by The Washington Post in 2018, officers successfully intervened in only two instances.
Locally, police and school officials have noted the added benefits of mentorship, athletic coaching and extracurricular activities provided by officers as reasons to maintain relationships with police departments, which they say help to keep students out of trouble.
“These SROs are head basketball coaches, assistant track coaches, on Saturdays they referee for teams,” says Richmond police Sgt. Stacy Rogers, who supervises the department’s SROs.
Policing in schools has been a contentious issue in Virginia for nearly a decade. The state led the nation in referring students to the justice system at a rate of 15.8 per 1,000 students during the 2011-12 school year — nearly three times the national rate, according to the 2015 CPI report. That year, Chesterfield County led the state with more than 1,700 such incidents. Referrals in the county have since decreased to 979, with 100 charges filed during the 2018-19 school year.
In Richmond, more than 121 middle and high school students were arrested by RPS resource officers or magistrates during the 2019-20 school year. Nearly half of those arrests occurred at Huguenot High School and Martin Luther King Middle School. Simple assault was the most common charge with 50 arrests.
“Our most heavily policed communities often have the most heavily policed schools,” says 5th District Richmond School Board member Stephanie Rizzi.
But simply looking at arrest data doesn’t accurately show what is going on, police say. RPD Sgt. Rogers says that “90% of charges go back to diversion,” which means that students are referred for behavioral supports. He adds that in these cases, charges do not remain on a student’s permanent record.
Officer Jason Johnson, who patrols George Wythe High School, says he strives to minimize student’s interactions with the court system and avoids using handcuffs or other restraints for most arrests.
“Our goal is to not file charges against the students and to explain to them what they did and the consequences of the actions they took,” Johnson says.
Student attitudes toward SROs are mixed. Most RPS teachers and students believe officers contribute to a good school environment, according to a 2020 Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services survey, but most students polled said they had never talked to their SRO.
Ninth grader Ta'Dreama McBride says her interactions with SROs at Henderson Middle School last year made her uncomfortable.
“They ... watched over us like we were low-key inmates in a way,” she says. “I can’t say they were being nasty toward the students, but they didn’t have peachy attitudes.”
Isaac Cumberbatch, a 12th grader who participates in band activities facilitated by RPD, reports a positive experience but says the tone of SROs can be off-putting to some, though it’s sometimes part of the job.
Local school divisions are attempting to improve relations between police and students. Chesterfield launched trauma-informed care programs four years ago with plans to hire additional mental health counselors. Henrico schools, where 15 students were arrested during the 2018-19 school year, added co-teaching and digital outreach opportunities for students and SROs.
In Richmond, Rogers suggests improvements to the SRO program could include “softer uniforms” such as khakis and polo shirts, though officers would still carry guns.
“Now is the perfect opportunity to reimagine the SRO program,” he says. “I put it out to the school board members that I’m willing to discuss issues with them at any time.”
