In 1971 it was all about counselors, teachers, and principals watching and monitoring kids in school.
Fifty years later, it's about police doing the job of school staff to secure and protect our kids, but at what cost?
Schools throughout the country are trying to decide whether to have police in the schools or not.
There are cities like New York and Chicago where civic leaders believe that having police in the schools is a deterrent to criminal activity. Activities like drug deals, shootings, and other criminal mischiefs that happen.
Research has shown that schools with police present have a higher degree of arrest and suspensions in younger students. However, it is not known if that is due to the presence of the police.
When asked nationally about police in schools of students, there was a resounding positive feeling. Students stated that they felt safe and protected while police were on the grounds.
In 2017 a national study done by the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management concluded that the arrest rates of children in schools where police were present increased substantially.
For each officer in the school, it led to 2.5 additional in-school arrests annually of kids between the ages of 7 and 14.
As for older kids, the study found evidence that additional police meant older kids were likely to get arrested in and out of school.
Locally in Fresno, I spent some time talking with students and parents whose kids are either in the public school system, charter schools where attendance is usually one or two days a week, and at the local colleges.
When I interviewed the students, we discussed the years before COVID since they have mostly been out of school this past year.
Parents
I found that parents were split in whether they felt having police in the schools was a positive idea. One group of parents felt that having a police officer or officers present in the school was needed. The parents said it gave them a sense of relief, knowing that there were professionals at the school protecting their children.
Other parents were not so excited about having a police presence. They made statements to the effect that it was like "Big Brother" watching over their kids and them.
They felt something was needed if counselors, teachers, and principals couldn't handle security work, but they didn't think having police in the schools was the right message to send to the kids.
Then, a group of parents felt the teachers, counselors, and principals should do their job of securing the school and the students like in the days when they went to school.
Students in High School
For the most part, high school students were split equally on the topic of police in the schools.
The one constant complaint was that they felt they were constantly being watched and doubted, even with the students who favored having a police presence.
The students who wanted the police in the school stated they felt safer and had less anxiety, especially when school shootings were going on around the country.
They knew they needed the security and mostly wanted it, but at the same time, they felt uneasy when walking into school and saw police officers standing guard. "Just Weird," one kid stated.
The Other Side
This half felt that police in their schools gave the feeling around campus like they were in prison. That at any moment, they could be pulled over in the hallway for some infraction that may be minor.
They felt that they were constantly being watched and judged by the police officers and that school was no place for police officers to be, even with the shootings happening around the country.
One constant question from this group is why aren't the teachers and other support staff capable of protecting us?
When posed with the question about being concerned about school shootings and criminal activity, they agreed that having the police in their schools seemed to quell that activity. Still, in some cases, it encouraged kids to take a chance in front of eh officers.
As you can see, even when the police weren't wanted, there still was the perception that they were needed to some extent.
In The Colleges
Here it was the same split as in the high schools when it came to the police or no police.
I found that the students who wanted the police on campus weren't as worried about being watched and bothered by them as the high school students felt.
They said they would have no issues with police being present on the campus to help with campus security, who didn't have the staff to be at the right place at the right time due to budgeting.
Of course, the other side of the argument was that police had no business on campus when there were campus police already.
In the end, it seems that most parents and staff want police officers on campus. They have had positive experiences with armed police officers protecting the schools and their kids.
Where this leads to in the future is still up for grabs. Everyone has an opinion of how having police on campuses should be handled, and it all comes down to the safety and security of the children.