Salem OR pull SRO’s from school system
Salem OR July 30 2020
Following calls for police reform and criticism of the school district’s use of in-school police officers, Salem Police Chief Jerry Moore said Monday night his department will not be placing school resource officers in Salem-Keizer Public Schools — for now.
Moore said he reached the decision following internal discussions with school district Superintendent Christy Perry.
He announced his decision during Monday’s Salem City Council meeting.
“I have advised (Perry) that the department will be taking a pause on assigning officers to any of the schools this year,” Moore said.
His decision comes after hundreds called on Salem-Keizer Public Schools to stop paying for police in schools and to instead redirect that money toward other initiatives.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office declined to make a decision similar to Moore’s and is instead awaiting direction from the school district and school board.
It is unclear when — and if — schools will hold in-person classes this year.
Moore said the decision to pause the program follows the outpouring of concerns by Black, Latino and Indigenous community members over school resource officers’ role in the so-called school-to-prison pipeline.
Dozens have spoken at recent Salem-Keizer School Board meetings, pointing to statistics showing students of color are disproportionately likely to be given suspensions and expulsions, have school-related arrests, or put into juvenile detention.
District officials said their contract for school resource officers totals $963,778, or about 0.08% of the district’s total budget.
These costs cover 11 officers with both Keizer and Salem police departments, as well as the Marion County Sheriff’s Office.
Their responsibilities include developing plans and strategies to prevent or minimize dangerous situations that may occur on campus, conducting law enforcement actions and investigations of crimes, referring students to community resources and serving as a liaison to various teams.
Moore said his decision to pause the program does not mean he doesn’t believe in its importance.
“It’s probably one of the best ways to build relationships with our young people in this community,” he said.
Moore said police also are able to provide classroom education and public safety support as needed in schools.
But he said school resource officers’ time was allocated to investigations where students themselves were victims, leaving little time to focus on mentoring.
About 80 protesters attended the Education Over Policing rally outside the Salem Keizer Public Schools building on Lancaster Drive on Thursday, June 18, 2020. The rally, organized by Latinos Unidos Siempre, calls on the school district to divest from school resource officers.Buy Photo
Superintendent Perry said Moore’s decision shows he is open to discussing this issue with the community.
“I believe Chief Moore has been listening carefully to the testimony at the school board meetings and has heard the concerns raised by our students,” Perry said. “Taking a pause signals to our youth he is willing to listen and take their concerns to heart as we build safe and welcoming schools for our students.”
The school board has committed to giving the community an answer by the end of August for whether they’ll keep or eliminate contracts with school resource officers.
The City Council also is set to discuss the contract during an upcoming work session.
“It is our intent to work with the schools, their students and our community to examine our current program to determine what changes might be appropriate and appreciated,” Moore said.
Mayor Chuck Bennett called Moore’s announcement a “wise and responsive decision” and said he looks forward to examining the issue and new ideas further.
Salem Police officers account for eight of the 11 school resource officers in the district.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office currently has one deputy who splits time between Houck Middle School and Adam Stephens Middle School in the Salem-Keizer School District.
Marion County Sheriff Joe Kast said his agency’s key goal is to be a good partner with the school district and maintain positive relationships with community youth.
“Over the course of the last several weeks, we’ve continued to listen to members of our community and engaged in conversations with Superintendent Christy Perry and the School Board,” Kast said. “Should Salem-Keizer School District decide to eliminate the SRO program, we will continue to find ways to interact with local youth and provide much needed public safety services to the youth in our community.”
He said he will support Perry and the board while they work to make “difficult decisions” about what the school resource officer program should look like going forward.
