Commissioner wants police liaison officers removed from all B.C. schools

B.C.’s Human Rights Commissioner is calling for an end to using school liaison police officers (SLOs) in all school districts in the province.

Commissioner Kasari Govender said there are significant concerns raised by marginalized students, their families and communities about “harm caused by police presence in schools,” suggesting there is discrimination.

“While there is a lack of research in Canada about the impact of SLO programs on Indigenous, Black and other racialized students, American research has found that SLOs contribute to a sense of criminalization and surveillance in schools, especially disadvantaging marginalized students,” Govender said in a letter to the B.C. School Trustees Association.

Govender is recommending immediate reasearch on the issue, and that civilian alternatives to SLOs be explored.

“Out of respect for the rights of our students, I strongly recommend that all school districts end the use of SLOs until the impact of these programs can be established empirically,” Govender added.

Govender said school boards who choose not to follow her suggestion must produce independent evidence of a need for SLOs that cannot be met through civilian alternatives.

The Vancouver school board voted to end the school liaison officer program at the district’s 17 high schools last year, due to concerns about the impact the police presence in school would have on the mental and physical well-being of students, especially students of colour.

The Vancouver Police Department said the program was about student engagement and making schools safe and inclusive.

The mandate of B.C.’s Office of the Human Rights Commissioner is to address the root causes of inequality, discrimination and injustice in B.C. by shifting laws, policies, practices and cultures.