Police in Schools

Beat Intro
Voiceover
00:00	This is the Beat—a podcast series that keeps you in the know about the latest community policing topics facing our nation.

Interview
Cindy Pappas
00:08	Hello and welcome. My name is Cindy Pappas, and on behalf of the COPS Office I’d like to thank you for joining us for the second in a series of five podcasts on the issues surrounding school safety, the role of police in schools, and the importance of community coordination in the identification and referral of children who have been victims of or witnesses to violence, and who are in need of support services. Joining us today is Mo Canady, Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers. He is here today to discuss the role of police in schools. Welcome Mr. Canady. 

Mo 
00:41	Thank you.

Cindy
00:42	As executive director of NASRO, and after 25 years of service with the Hoover (Alabama) Police Department, what do you believe is the role of police in schools?

Mo
00:53	Well, I believe that it’s through a collaborative effort, first and foremost, between the law enforcement agency and the school district. One of the important goals that we see for school-based police officers, first, is that they are properly trained to work in a school environment. Secondly, that it is the right person to work in the school environment. And then third, that they have the overall goal of bridging the gap between youth and law enforcement.

Cindy
01:21	Very good. Well, what do you say to those who argue that police in schools have only increased the nation’s school-to-prison pipeline, through increased referrals to the juvenile justice system? Even for minor infractions, and particularly African-American students and those with emotional, behavioral, or educational disabilities?

Mo
01:40	We released a report in mid-October called “To Protect and Educate,” and the report is about 8 months’ worth of work by our association, to look at school-based policing across the nation, not just one in one specific area. But as we’ve taken a hard look at this, we’ve seen that where those concerns are occurring, are in many instances dealing with police departments who have put officers in to schools in a situation where they're not properly trained to work in a school. Also the thing that we see as a problem there, is a situation where school administration is not necessarily trained in how to properly utilize a school police officer.
	
Cindy 
02:28	So training really is the key component. Could you talk briefly about some of the training that’s currently available? Does the National Association of School Resource Officers provide specific training for school-based law enforcement to promote safer schools and safer kids?

Mo
02:43	Our association has been in business for just over 23 years now, and that entire time we’ve been committed to the training of school-based police officers. Not just school-based police officers, but also school administrators. And one of the classes that we offer is called the Basic SRO Course. And it’s 40 hours long, it lasts for a week, and in that we train the officers on what we call the SRO Triad Concept with the idea that their primary role is as law enforcement, but that there’s also an education component and an informal counseling component. We have several blocks that take place during that week, that train them in all three of those areas.

Cindy
03:27	Very good. You also mentioned, in several of the responses, both law enforcement and administrators, and I would assume that they would be part of a school safety team in the development of school safety plans. I would like to get your opinion on the role of police on these teams and what role should they have in developing specific safety plans.

Mo
03:50	Cindy, that’s a great question, and I think it’s important to note that we don’t we the school-based officer as the be-all-end-all to school security and safety. It’s a team approach, and the officer is simply a part of that team. One of the things we see with properly trained school-based police officers is they become very engaged in what’s going on in what’s going on in the school. It’s not just an officer standing guard. But one of the key things for them to do is to be a critical component, or part, of the school safety team. Every school should have a safety team that’s made up of a variety of individuals to include school administrators, teachers, maybe even parents—students can be very useful on those teams—school nurses, counselors, all those individuals come together to combine the school safety team, which really is at the core of what helps to make a school safe.



Cindy
04:48	And what to you believe are some of the gaps in this field? What should we be doing better or differently as schools, communities, and government agencies, to better address school safety related issues?

Mo
04:59	Well, one of the gaps is obviously going to be funding, and I’m not quite sure how we rectify that on a national level. I’m not quite sure where we go with that. But that, you know, funding is going to be, certainly, one of the big issues. You know most certainly school-based policing programs are locally funded now, and that’s something that each community certainly is gonna have to decide if they want to put the funds there for school-based policing. So I think that’s one of the biggest concerns… 

Cindy
05:30	…Is the funding. It sounds like a lot of the conversation is funding and then adequate training.

Mo
05:36	Absolutely. The training has to be there. You know of course that the funding is the first part of the step, but after that before an officer sets one foot on a school campus to work in that environment they have to be properly trained.

Cindy
05:50	Do you have any final words regarding the role of police in schools today?

Mo
05:54	Well, I think that we’ve proven over the last 23 years, and even beyond that, that school policing can be a very effective tool to use. It’s something that can truly make a positive difference in the lives of students—I’ve seen that happen, our members have seen that happen. We certainly know that there are situations where that hasn’t been the case, but we do believe that through improved and increased training in certain areas, and the proper selection of officers, that that can be overcome.

Cindy
06:27	Great. Mr. Canady, thank you so much for providing us with your expertise and your time today.

Mo
06:32	Thank you Cindy, have a great day.

Cindy
06:34	You do the same.


Beat Exit
Voiceover: 	
06:36	The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of Justice COPS Office. The COPS Office helps to keep our nation’s communities safe by giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing community policing publications, developing partnerships, and solving problems.

Disclaimer:
06:52	The opinions contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or polices of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the authors or the U.S. Department of Justice. Rather, the references are illustrations to supplement discussion of the issues.


####END OF TRANSCRIPT####