Recent posts here concerning the use of Special Law Enforcement Officers - Class III (SLEO III) in our schools are revealing many misconceptions of the purpose, roles and motivation behind what is being proposed.
I strongly urge anyone interested to watch the video of the May 8, 2018, presentation to the BOE for yourself, so you can form your own opinion rather they rely on what others are saying.
Concerning the purpose, first, there is the obvious improvement in security that comes with having police officer already present on school grounds who is familiar with the building and its operations in the event of an extreme emergency. Beyond any catastrophic event, which admittedly has a low (but not zero) probability of happening, the officers will be available to assist in traditional functions where a regular on-duty officer would normally be called, leaving that officer free to attend to his or her normal assignment. Also, while threat assessment, response time, and deterrence are primary functions, community policing and relationship building are additional benefits.
In the schools, the roles and powers of the SLEO III officers will be no different than the regular full-time police officers. They are spelled out in the state-mandated Memorandum of Agreement Between Education and Law Enforcement already in place. The hiring of SLEO III officers will not in any way change the job descriptions of building principals and assistant principals. Disciplinary action will continue to be done by school administration. They will not be involved with student discipline except in cases where the law already requires be law enforcement be involved.
I admit that whether the benefits justify the officers' presence is a judgment call. The BOE vote was 5-3 in favor, with one of the no votes saying she agreed with having officers at the upper grades, but thought they were unnecessary in the elementary schools.
As I said at the last BOE meeting, reasonable people can disagree. However, in the ensuing public discussion a number of false statements have been made, some by people who should know better, that I feel need to be clarified for the record.
First, there seems to be an impression going around that these officers will be patrolling the halls looking for ways to harass students and ready to handcuff anyone found without a hall pass. Statements like "We have a drug problem in our schools and the Administration is trying to use police officers to fix it" or references to a "school to prison pipeline" in WW-P show a complete lack of understanding of what happens in our schools today. And frankly, they are insulting to the school staff and police departments who work hard to protect, educate and support the children of our community every day.
Similarly, comments made about the officers possibly acting as informal counselors, show that many do not understand what the word "informal" means. It is hoped these officers will be seen by students as an adult they can go to for advice, like a respected coach or teacher.
There was also a concern about adequate training. The Board of Education values professional development and training for all its staff and will work with the police chiefs to ensure their officers continue to receive appropriate training. The budget established by the school district includes funds for initial and ongoing training the SLEO III officers. And keep in mind that these officers will be recently retired NJ police officers, meaning that they will come 20 plus years of experience. In addition, both police chiefs assured us that the quality of their departments will not be compromised.
People have questioned the timing of the process with votes scheduled for the summer when people are away. Actually, public discussion began in early March when the 2018-2019 budget was being prepared. In March there were even discussion threads on this Facebook site about the proposal for SLEO IIIs. A public presentation was made at the May 8 board of education meeting, video posted on the district website and played on each townships cable channel, and an article was published in a May issue of the WW&P News. Follow up discussions were had at each meeting up to the June 26 BOE vote. If the BOE was trying to sneak the past people, we were doing a very poor job of it.
Again, this is subject where reasonable people can disagree. I don’t mind debate, but some of the statements made show an unsettling amount of distrust for our fine police departments and school administrators. One of the goals of the program is establishing a better relationship between the public and the police. As good as our two Police Departments are, it seems they have their work cut out for them.
If anyone has any questions or comments for me, my email address is Anthony.Fleres@ww-p.org.