Gun Bill Blasted by School Committee Member for Police in Schools
Wednesday, June 04, 2014
While some schools have student resource officers in the state, Novick feels that a requirement to have at least one in each district could be detrimental to the previous work completed by the Joint Committee on Education in regards to student discipline reform.
“While thinking about guns and prevention of violence is well applauded, I don’t think that putting outsourcing school safety is a good idea,” said Novick. “This law is going to force us to change how we do school safety; it really is a step backward for the state.”
According to the bill, a student resource officer would be defined as “a duly sworn municipal police officer with all necessary training, up-to-date certificates and a license to carry a firearm charged with providing law enforcement and security services to elementary and secondary public schools.”
Making Students Feel Unsafe
Rather than basing opinions off assumptions, Novick sent two studies along with the letter, both of which summarize that student resource officers aren’t the most effective way to secure student safety.
“Education Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools” and “The Effect of Police Contact: Does Official Intervention Result in Deviance Amplification?” both analyze the role of student resource officers in school and offer evidence against the officers.
Research shows that in addition to students feeling less safe under the presence of a student resource officer, students are also more likely to commit delinquent behavior. According to a statistic from the “Education Under Arrest” study, schools with a student resource officer had nearly five times the arrest rate for disorderly conduct that that of a school without an officer present.
Officers with Multiple Purposes
Dealing with student resource officers is somewhat of a double edged sword. While obviously there to protect students, the evidence is clear that there is a potential for students to feel unsafe.
While this may be the case, those advocating for the resource officers say that people need to look beyond the officers as an intimidating force and need to look to them for their benefits: their additional training that helps them to teach and mentor students about safe behavior.
Sheila Decter, the Director of Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, points out that resource officers are much more than the run of the mill officer that would enforce day-to-day laws. These officers, while still armed, have additional training which helps them to better assist students in need.
“The argument is much more than just putting police officers in schools,” said Decter. “Resource officers can be very helpful in helping students deal with a variety of issues. There is an emphasis in this bill of having resource officers that are better trained to be able to work with students.”
Related Slideshow: The Influence of Gun Money in New England States
New Data from The Sunlight Foundation shows state-by-state breakdowns for donations to groups on both sides of the gun debate. The money went toward candidates, political parties, and political action committees (PACs), but doesn't include donations to independent or so-called “super PACs”.
See how much money went to candidates in each of the New England States in the slides below.
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