The Intransigent Faction
16th June 2017, 18:14
Communities in Toronto are once again calling for an end to the controversial "School Resource Officer (SRO)" program, which is in effect a legal euphemism for police patrolling the halls of certain communities' schools.
During its monthly meeting on Thursday, the [Toronto Police Services Board] voted to create a steering committee comprised of youth, parents, school officials and community organizations “to oversee and participate in the development of the (previously requested) report on the SRO program.”
http://globalnews.ca/news/3529714/toronto-police-board-officers-in-schools/
The program came into effect back in 2009 despite overwhelming opposition expressed by local residents and students at the time. Critics said the relative poverty of schools in the area should be addressed instead. They also said the SRO program merely sent a message of marginalization and criminalization to young members of the community.
Now, activist group Black Lives Matter is a vehicle through which they can once again speak out about and against the program.
An online petition (https://www.change.org/p/immediately-end-toronto-s-school-resource-officer-program) is approaching 1,000 signatures, and concerned activists have made their presence and perspective known at Toronto City Hall.
The board has voted to defer suspending the program, pending a final report by the steering committee by the end of the year.
Of course there was the rare voice in favour of the program. Some of the media will run with that and play up the controversy as much as possible, just as they did regarding the police presence at this year's Pride celebration. Yet, even apparent supporters of the program support it on grounds of keeping kids safe. When we start to examine whether the SRO program actually improves safety, it becomes clear it's at best a band-aid solution for problems created by poverty and at worst it contributes to systemic discrimination. As one resident put it, the program just teaches kids to follow rules because they fear being caught breaking them. In place of instilling community to empower people, this instills fear of authority to get them to toe the line.
It's unclear at this point what impact the steering committee will have, considering the community's wishes were disregarded for nearly a decade up to now. The way forward is clear: resist marginalization, resist criminalization, and build and sustain a community that looks out for itself.
The folks over at Jane-Finch.com put a reporter in the community to get residents' feedback on a push for more consultations...way back in 2009. The message could not have been clearer then, and it remains so today. Here's the video:
e5VpagJPZWo
During its monthly meeting on Thursday, the [Toronto Police Services Board] voted to create a steering committee comprised of youth, parents, school officials and community organizations “to oversee and participate in the development of the (previously requested) report on the SRO program.”
http://globalnews.ca/news/3529714/toronto-police-board-officers-in-schools/
The program came into effect back in 2009 despite overwhelming opposition expressed by local residents and students at the time. Critics said the relative poverty of schools in the area should be addressed instead. They also said the SRO program merely sent a message of marginalization and criminalization to young members of the community.
Now, activist group Black Lives Matter is a vehicle through which they can once again speak out about and against the program.
An online petition (https://www.change.org/p/immediately-end-toronto-s-school-resource-officer-program) is approaching 1,000 signatures, and concerned activists have made their presence and perspective known at Toronto City Hall.
The board has voted to defer suspending the program, pending a final report by the steering committee by the end of the year.
Of course there was the rare voice in favour of the program. Some of the media will run with that and play up the controversy as much as possible, just as they did regarding the police presence at this year's Pride celebration. Yet, even apparent supporters of the program support it on grounds of keeping kids safe. When we start to examine whether the SRO program actually improves safety, it becomes clear it's at best a band-aid solution for problems created by poverty and at worst it contributes to systemic discrimination. As one resident put it, the program just teaches kids to follow rules because they fear being caught breaking them. In place of instilling community to empower people, this instills fear of authority to get them to toe the line.
It's unclear at this point what impact the steering committee will have, considering the community's wishes were disregarded for nearly a decade up to now. The way forward is clear: resist marginalization, resist criminalization, and build and sustain a community that looks out for itself.
The folks over at Jane-Finch.com put a reporter in the community to get residents' feedback on a push for more consultations...way back in 2009. The message could not have been clearer then, and it remains so today. Here's the video:
e5VpagJPZWo