Danville News Column
Robert John Andrews
May 11, 2012
“School Resource Officers”
Word Count:  750

They call them School Resource Officers.  Their job is to keep our schools safe.  Safety is good, I suppose.  Maybe.  Rather depends on what we lose in the pursuit of security.  

I recognize that what has been explored by our schools is far different from when I watched police patrol the hallways of my High School. We had race riots.  Of course, their presence did little to ease the tension.  Actually, it incited conflicts and arrests.  It’s unwise to douse flames with lighter fluid. 

I’m trying to get my head around the notion of Resource Officers, where police services are hired by schools.  My instincts tell me this is plain wrong on so many different levels.  But, since closed minds are worse than no minds, I’m open to being persuaded why this idea might have merit.

How often have police been called into the schools?  Can they inspect lockers at will?
Will they be armed?   Are student assaults and illegal activity increasing here?  Since prevention remains the commendable goal of this officer, where will the boundaries be set?

One argument in favor of police on school sites points toward Columbine fears.  Though, it’s unlikely one officer is going to prevent a Columbine.  To be fair, we do want police at malls, even at amusement parks.  Why should schools be different?   Others contend how the presence of police make young people feel safer. 

But safety is an illusion.  Who can guarantee anyone’s safety?  If one officer helps make us safe, then why not five more?  Or better, we can maximize safety by organizing squads of youth into watch volunteers to help monitor other student’s behavior.   Forgive my facetiousness.  I’ve never been good with authority.  If my High School ever dared to install surveillance cameras, I know exactly how long they’d last.  Nowadays we like them.  But why are you monitoring me?  Why this expectation of misconduct?

My gut tells me that the very reasons for a School Resource Officer are reasons to question it.

Even if we fund this position from a grant, it still sends an unfortunate message.  We can fund police, but must cut art.  There’s a second message.  Is anyone else uncomfortable by the collaboration between schools (whose hope is to educate) and police (whose job is enforcement)? 

How tempting might it become for both teachers and administrators to abdicate their educational responsibilities for dealing constructively with unruly students?   Great, I don’t have to put up with this garbage -- call the officer!  Yet, any reliance on enforcement is a sign of professional failure.  Negatives cannot fix negatives.  Yes, I realize educators waste too much time dealing with discipline problems.  Yet, isn’t the use of external locus of control a last resort?   Control by implicit or explicit threat spawns contempt (or breeds sheep).  Lasting improvement occurs by the development of the student’s internal locus of control.

What I grieve isn’t so much the idea of a Resource Officer.  I grieve how this conversation is sadly symptomatic of our society’s tilt toward more and more solutions by external locus of control, which never solves the problem.  External control, like pressing down on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, merely squishes bad behavior elsewhere.

How will the Resource Officer deal with bad behavior?  Let’s face it, the police themselves are handcuffed by legislators.  The police lack latitude when laws are broken (or bent).  Back when I was in High School some of my wilder buddies got picked up for drinking.  Did they end up in court?  No.  The cops drove them home and their dads meted out justice.  Try that today. 

Which makes zero tolerance foolishly rigid and rigidly foolish.  Common sense gets hamstrung.  Any rule that forbids exceptions is stupid.  Take knives for example. It’s possible I may have visited our Primary School plenty of times carrying a knife.  I always carry my pocket knife.  If a kid likewise forgets, is prosecution and expulsion mandatory?  What about the young fellow who forgets that his hunting rifle is in the pick-up he drove to school?  God help him.

And so penalties escalate.  Do we arrest for using insulting, offensive language?  Suppose a kid does something stupid.  Is his fate automatically shoved from the educational realm into the judicial arena?  Instead of lessons, is it adjudication?  Good luck him trying to get employment if he wins a criminal conviction.  Beware these collateral consequences.  They ruin chances for a productive life. 

We’re not quite Big Brother, but we sure aren’t Little Sister.