The Victoria Esquimalt Police Board wants the province’s human rights commissioner to hear first-hand the effect the cancellation of the police liaison officer program in the Greater Victoria School District is having on schools.
The board voted unanimously Tuesday night to invite commissioner Kasari Govender to an open board meeting to hear a presentation from VicPD and the mobile youth service team on the negative effects of cancelling the program.
It was a letter from Govender in 2022 to the B.C. School Trustees Association that led to the Greater Victoria School Board voting last year to end the program. The move was opposed by both Victoria and Saanich chiefs of police, who warned gangs are recruiting in local schools.
In the letter, Govender recommended school-liaison officers no longer be posted at schools until the need for them can be proven, saying concerns about the presence of police officers in schools had been raised by “Indigenous, Black and other marginalized communities.”
While there is little Canadian research on the topic, she said, American studies have shown the officers can contribute to a sense of criminalization and surveillance in schools.
In pushing for a meeting with the commissioner, police board director Paul Faoro said Govender’s letter was at times off base.
“There’s statements in there that I believe are not correct, like suggesting that students generally feel safe in schools regardless [of whether] there’s a school liaison program embedded in there,” he said. “I’m not sure this is correct.
“This letter has been used over and over for defence of not having school police liaison programs. And I think this board, given this issue, given our responsibility, I think it’d be fair to invite the commissioner to have an open dialogue to hear first-hand what’s happening in Victoria schools.”
The police board has been meeting with the school district to discuss the issue, though police board co-chair Barb Desjardins acknowledged they have yet to make much progress.
“Although we had not resolved anything, we came out of it feeling that we had a productive meeting and that we would continue to work together,” she said, noting the police board has established a sub-committee that will continue to meet with the school district on the issue.
The police board will also write to the minister of Education and Childcare requesting a review of student safety in the Greater Victoria School District in light of the school board’s reluctance to reinstate the school police liaison officer program.
“This is a complex, serious issue and I think that we shouldn’t be afraid of making sure that we are gathering facts and we put all hands on deck to look at the situation,” said Faoro.
Some police board members had hoped to meet with the school district a second time before sending the letter in hopes it would be a more collaborative effort. Other directors were concerned time was running out on the school year and wanting some traction before the fall.
“I am pleased that we’re continuing to meet. It would be a mistake not to continue dialogue with the school district,” said Faoro. “But my goodness, I think we have an obligation here to push as hard as we can to try to ensure that everybody who goes to schools is under a safe environment.”
Victoria police hadn’t participated in the school police liaison officer program since 2018 due to budget shortfalls, but Police Chief Del Manak — a former school-liaison officer himself — has said he would like it to be reinstated.
