Students say schools don’t need police, already have supports in place

Some students say school administrators use police officers in Hamilton's high schools as a crutch to solve problems, when more appropriate alternatives are already available.

Where the school could be calling different community partners, I feel they turn to the police," said Gregory Dongen, a Grade 12 student at Bernie Custis Secondary School, who is Black. Even with little disputes, should it be bullying or harassment, we can have a mediator come in and sit down with students ... There are social workers and other people in the building that can help."

Dongen's comments come as calls intensify from current and former students to abolish the police partnership with the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) - and the police liaison program specifically.

The liaison program is now under review, following a vote from Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB) trustees at a Monday board meeting, but it is not being suspended nor terminated, which a group of current and former students, dubbed HWDSB Kids Need Help, have called for.

The Hamilton public school board says it started hearing concerns from students about its police liaison program as far back as a year ago, at which point they started discussing a review.

Sharon Stephanian, the HWDSB superintendent of equity and well-being, said last spring the board heard from students who said felt unsafe due to the presence of police in their schools. But in the last week and a half, the board has heard more intense" concerns, specifically from racialized and Indigenous students, she sad.

She called the students' stories extremely concerning."

We want our students to feel and to be safe, supported and accepted when they are in our buildings," Stephanian said. We take issues of racism extremely seriously and so when we hear from our student population that they are feeling unsafe and harmed, it is something that we do ... take very seriously."

HWDSB Kids Need Help says they want the liaison program abolished. They say too often, racialized, Black and Indigenous students are subject to police carding in hallways or being handcuffing and put into cruisers for mundane things."

It's sad to see students have to fear the police in their own school," said Dongen, who is a member of HWDSB Kids Need Help. We should have that ability to go to school without being faced with racism."

Hamilton police youth service co-ordinator, Sgt. Jason Tadeson, said the students' concerns haven't been raised with police directly, but police do look forward to participating in the review.

It's important that we listen to the feedback and ensure we're making any changes to the program that are necessary so students feel ... safe," Tadeson said.

Tadeson said the police liaison program was implemented in 1995. In its current iteration, 11 police officers work with 196 high school and elementary schools across Hamilton, including those in the public, Catholic, French public, French Catholic and private school systems.

In the schools, officers work to strengthen community-police relations, participating in everything from sports and music lessons to art and pottery classes, Tadeson said. They also support schools as needed, offering presentations on vaping, sexting and cyberbullying, and conducting investigations when requested by principals, while focusing on restorative justice principles when resolving disputes.

Katrina Clarke is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach her via email: katrinaclarke@thespec.com