A BAYVIEW SCHOOL is the next in line to be part of a program that puts police officers in Toronto schools.
At a press conference on June 29, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair announced that Earl Haig Secondary School will have a uniformed officer stationed in the hallways beginning this fall.
An additional 19 schools in Toronto will see an officer in September, bringing the total number of schools involved in the program to 50.
“I am very proud of my school resource officers,” Blair said in a statement. “These officers have approached these assignments with insatiable energy and dedication. As a result, we have created new relationships with young people all over Toronto. They, in turn, have come to respect police officers on an entirely different level.”
Mari Rutka, the school board trustee for Willowdale, said she is not opposed to the program and agrees that the goal is to shift the perception of police officers and their role within the community.
“I think the idea here is to change the nature of policing so that it is a proactive force rather than a reactive force,” she said. “It’s about trying to build a different kind of relationship.”
Despite having initial reservations, trustee James Pasternak said that the feedback he’s received about the experience has been positive.
“I was one of the skeptics when this idea was first presented to the Toronto District School Board,” said Pasternak, who had an officer within Downsview S.S. over the last school year. “I wasn’t keen on uniformed officers being in the school.”
Despite his initial reservations about the program, Pasternak said that the feedback he had received regarding the experience had been positive.
“All the indications that I have and the report I’ve gotten from the principal is that the experience was an extremely positive one.”
In addition to helping change the public perception of police, Pasternak also described the practical use of the program.
A robbery attempt near Downsview last year was thwarted after student witnesses relayed information to the school resource officer. As a result, an arrest was made and the victim’s property recovered.
Beverley Ohashi, the principal at Earl Haig S.S., and superintendent Sue Pfeffer, of the Toronto District School Board, declined to comment on the matter, stating that they had not yet had a chance to discuss the program and will do so before speaking to the issue.
Rutka said that the program should not be viewed as a replacement for regular disciplinary policy or education within the classroom. But she said that the school board is happy to have assistance from police services.
“I don’t think having school resource officers is the whole answer, nor will it ever be,” Rutka said.
“But on the other hand, if the police are willing to pitch in, in terms of trying to help kids and support them in positive, proactive ways, I think that’s a good thing. And I think it’s a good direction for the police to go in.”