Boston Public Schools officials are considering creating its own police department to handle internal complaints and disruptions. The proposal comes at a time when police reform activists have called for less policing, especially in schools, where students of color and students with disabilities can disproportionately be targeted.
Creating an internal law enforcement department was recommended Wednesday by an outside consulting group, the Council of the Great City Schools, as part of a state-mandated improvement plan for the district. The Council of Great City Schools says on its website it works to help students at public schools in “inner cities.”
The group also recommended creating an anonymous reporting hotline and strengthening communication between the school district and the Boston Police Department.
‘Disturbing incidents’ at Boston Public Schools
This month, four members of the City Council sent a letter to Mayor Michelle Wu demanding more police and scanners to detect weapons students could bring.
“There have been many disturbing incidents at our schools, and on our school buses this year,” city councilors wrote. The authors acknowledged “there are differing opinions around the role of police officers” in schools, but said there should be no question “about returning non-invasive technology such as metal detectors and having police officers present in our schools.”
The Boston Public Schools district serves more than 54,000 students, or about three-quarters of the school-age children who live in Boston, according to the district’s website.
REPORT:Shots fired in US schools spiked dramatically last year
Most schools report violent incidents
Seventy percent of U.S. public schools reported having at least one violent incident on campus during the 2019-2020 school year, the most recent year for which data is available.
During the same time, the vast majority of public schools with 1,000 or more students had at least one law enforcement officer who routinely carried a firearm, according to the U.S. Department of Education.
Critics say police in schools criminalize children
In response to the push to increase law enforcement at Boston Public Schools, child advocates wrote their own letter saying the initiatives will criminalize young people.
Massachusetts Advocates for Children also noted all four City Council members who wrote the letter are white.
The letter to Wu demanding metal detectors “perpetuated dangerous narratives about school safety,” wrote the group, saying “Black and Brown” students and students with disabilities will be traumatized by the law enforcement measures.
“Relying on police and surveillance technology may feel like an immediate solution, but these measures merely create an illusion of safety,” said the group, which recommended counselors, after school programming, extra literacy resources and mental health services instead.
