Vancouver's School Liaison Officer program review finds generally positive attitudes towards police in schools

A review of Vancouver's School Liaison Officer program found that students held a generally positive view of the program as trustees are set to debate its future.

A review of the program was ordered in June of 2020, not long after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis sparked a series of global protests and riots. Such protests against police misconduct also took place in Vancouver, and did not devolve into violence as experienced in many American cities.

The review involved interviews with over 1,000 participants including parents, students, faculty, and community members.

When asked if "the SLO program contributes to a sense of safety in schools," 61 percent of students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, while 22 percent disagreed.

The responses varied wildly by race, however. Among respondents of Indigenous background, only 47 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, while 33 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed. The level of agreement was significantly lower among black respondents with only 15 percent agreeing or strongly agreeing and 60 percent disagreeing or strongly disagreeing.

The ethnic background of respondents was measured through self-identification, and the review did not discuss any mechanisms for authenticating self-identification.

Despite many respondents expressing a certain level of fear, anxiety, or mistrust around police, a finding which was especially common among black students, reasons for such responses generally focused on perception of in-school officers derived from wider political debates surrounding policing rather than from specific negative incidents.

"As a queer parent of a queer kid with a partner who is indigenous/latinx it makes the school less safe for us and our child," one response reads.

"I am uncomfortable with the presence of police officers in schools. I believe there is high risk of discrimination against Indigenous, Black, and racialized students, as well as those who are neurodivergent. Children should not be policed and at risk of being treated as criminals in a space that should be protective of them and work to find restorative justice and peaceful interventions," another respondent wrote.

One parent who held a negative view of the program said that they experienced personal hostility from an officer while they were in school, although the response did not clarify how long ago this was. Other respondents have claimed that they have witnessed officers acting in a negative way towards other students. However, the entire review does not document a single case of a current student being directly mistreated by officers.

Contrarily, those who described positive perceptions of the program discussed specific examples of positive experiences. One respondent discussed the role of police in "educating students who took cantinas or drug at school."

One parent told the story of her daughter, who joined the VPD cadets as a result of the VPD presence in her school. "If the VPD did not have a presence in Vancouver secondary schools, then she would not have known about the program that has been so uniquely beneficial to her," the parent said.

A student respondent shared their own positive experience, noting that they "love knowing that there’s a liaison officer that I can talk to and share anything. It was always a positive experience."

When asked whether the program should be maintained, 67 percent of respondents said the program should remain with some or no changes. A mere 18 percent said the program should be cancelled altogether.

Despite strong support for maintaining the program, those who opposed it have argued that their voices should be prioritized over those who support the program.

"The VSB should not be relying on public opinion to inform its choices regarding marginalized people," one respondent argued. "Listen to marginalized people first. It’s that simple. If 9/10 students felt safe with police would you keep the program and ignore the thousands of students who don’t? When those thousands are [most] likely marginalized youth?"

"Listen to BIPOC communities as they are the most impacted," was listed in the report as one of the general themes extracted from negative responses.

Merkiel Simpson, a local community advocate in Vancouver, said that the report's commitment to "objectivity" is a problem.

"For example, we've heard from, let's say, hundreds of students and maybe only a couple dozen Indigenous and Black students — and the Indigenous and Black students are experiencing harm and are expressing deep concerns with the program," Simpson said. "But when we wash away those voices with those of people who aren't in harm's way with the program, it discounts what they're trying to say and it perpetuates systemic racism."

The report also noted that minority students often felt a stronger connection with officers of ethnic minority backgrounds, with some respondents suggesting that offering a more diverse group of officers to attend to schools may increase comfortability among students of ethnic minority backgrounds.

Ultimately, the report found a "[lack] of familiarity with the SLO program and a desire to understand why SLOs are in schools."

Trustees will be speaking to community members on Monday to get additional feedback on the program before ultimately deciding its fate in April.