#Police only know how to be police officers. There’s a difference between criminals and #students, and officers have shown that they just don’t get it.

It’s sad that we have to worry about the safety of our children while at school. Schools are meant to impart education and ensure the well-being and development of their students, both behavioral and mental. But what we’ve seen recently stands to prove otherwise.

Since 2004, the District of Columbia Police has managed the contract of security officers inside DCPS but in the wake of the unjustified acts of police brutality recently, the DC Council no longer sees fit to continue the contract.

We are all aware of the tragic death of George Floyd, which has ignited distrust and disgust towards the police department. The police force is meant to maintain law and order while prioritizing the safety of civilians. When they have proven that they are not capable of doing so in the field, how can we trust them with our children? We are talking about mentoring and providing the students of DCPS with safety here, and the police just don't know how to do it. Officers are expected to preserve law and order in the schools, yet students are getting killed.

Recall the unfortunate death of James Richardson, a 17-year old star football player at Ballou Senior High, who was shot dead inside the Southeast Washington School. The reason behind this murder was said to be enmity brewing between two student groups. Whatever, the reason, where were the police? What were they doing when a gun entered the premises? "All I know is that a gun got into the school, and my son is dead because of it,” grieved William Patterson, James’ father.

In a separate incident at Bellou, mercury was taken from the school science lab and was spread on the campus, resulting in the school shutting down for a month. Upon re-opening, a gunman fired shots on the campus. What kind of security is that? "It seems like nobody cares about your children here," said Josephine Franklin, mother of 16-year old student who attends Ballou. "It's too many things, the mercury, the fights, and now this. What kind of education are these kids getting? How can you get an education when stuff like this happens all the time?"

On the first note, why do we even need police to protect the school premises? Schools were running long before police stepped in to protect campuses. So why do we need them now? The police cost us $23 million annually, only for their presence in the schools to accomplish little to nothing. The funds for hiring them would be better utilized in health programs, and the continued training of educators to promote social-emotional learning in their classrooms.

Besides ensuring safety, police officers are hired as student resource officers intended to mentor, counsel, and educate the students. Nothing of that sort is happening however. The officers are not trained enough to understand the difference between kids and grownups. They do not have the proper knowledge on how to deal with these students.

"They're handing out criminal charges for something as simple as a school fight," said Rodney Robinson, the 2019 National Teacher of the Year. "Swiping headphones is now a felony if they get caught by the school resource officer. These are the types of things that contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline,” Robinson expressed concern.

SROs or the Student Resource Officers must be given the necessary skills to understand the psychology of students and how to tackle minute issues. Distinction between school disruptions and those that require arrest warrants must be made. Things would be better if teachers were left to do their job of tackling students, and have security forces hired within the school authority rather than police.

With charges mounting against the police regularly, the DC Council has passed an amendment to give DCPS hiring control of the security officers for the schools. DPSC should keep schools as schools where the students are treated like students and not criminals. Over the years, we’ve come to understand that police and schools don’t mix. Let us not make the school a prison cell, and remove the officers instead.