In the Monroe County Community School Corporation, when you’re learning about the Bill of Rights, you can now also learn about your Miranda rights.
The school board voted unanimously on Wednesday to create their own police department.
It makes the Editorial Board wonder; when did we get to a place where schools could create their own ?police departments?
MCCSC hired a school resource officer this past year.
Indiana Law says SROs must be affiliated with a law enforcement agency, either a local one or part of a school corporation police department. Right now there’s only one officer, but there could be more in the future.
It makes sense that schools should be able to talk to officers if kids have questions or ?problems.
But the creation of school-specific departments seems rather heavy-handed.
An SRO has the ability to carry a gun, make searches and seizures and even ?arrest people.
We think that’s a lot of power for a school ?employee.
There may be times where action needs to be taken to protect students, but we wonder how much force is necessary.
MCCSC isn’t a dystopian penal colony or a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The ?students are just kids. Some of them may get in trouble, but that doesn’t mean they need the grizzled hand of justice to hammer them into submission.
School safety is important, but so is quality ?education.
We wonder if the money used for the police department and the SRO couldn’t be used on other parts of the school system which have suffered from budget ?cutbacks in the past.
Establishing a police department could also affect the students ?psychologically.
We think that while the program has good intentions, it could send the wrong message.
It essentially tells the students they are a problem, that the schools need a police department to keep them in check.
And we think if you make someone feel like a criminal, they’re more likely to react like one.
Student life can be pretty tough, especially in middle and high school.
Being a teen is a frustrating part of life.
You’re trying to figure out who you are while still ?growing into who you’ll ?become. It’s a storm of emotions and hormones and general awkwardness.
Balancing homework, a social life and preparing for the future can be a lot to take on.
Students also have ?almost no rights since they aren’t adults and are stuck in schools for hours every week.
That leaves them in a ?vulnerable position.
Schools have a lot of power over their students and a responsibility to protect them.
It’s not just attackers or other students that are threats.
If the administration is treating students badly, that’s just as much of a ?problem.
We think that a lot of times students don’t need another authority figure ?telling them what they’re doing wrong.
They just need someone who will listen.
If the new MCCSC police department does this, they’ll be on the right track.
But if they don’t, if they act like they are cops ?controlling a population of student criminals, we think the whole program will be a waste.
