In close 5-4 vote, trustees approve bringing police back into Vancouver schools

A Vancouver Police Department patch is seen on an officer's uniform as she makes a phone call after responding to an unknown incident in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, on Saturday, January 9, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

The Vancouver School Board has voted in favour of reinstating a controversial program that places police officers in city schools.

Trustees approved the return of school liaison officers in a close 5-4 vote Monday night, less than 18 months after the previous board ended the program over concerns about its impact on some students.

A third-party report commissioned by the board found students who are Black, Indigenous, disabled, LGBTQ2S+ or low-income were far more likely to report negative experiences with SLOs.

During Monday's meeting, trustee Jennifer Ready suggested bringing the school liaison officer program back would call the new board's commitment to anti-racism, reconciliation and equality into question.

"This decision runs contrast to those things – you know it and I know it," Ready said.

"It will stigmatize and target specific students who already don't see themselves represented here, and who will be further marginalized and excluded by this decision. It will let the public know that we do not have the best interests of all students at the forefront of our decision-making."

Opponents called for more consultation and discussion before bringing police back into schools, but were outnumbered. While trustee Preeti Fardikot's motion proposed a "reimagined" SLO program, it's unclear how it will differ from the previous one.

"I appreciate everyone's opinion on this matter," Fardikot said ahead of the vote. "I understand that police do not belong in schools but (neither do) gangs, (neither) does crime, (neither do) drugs – none of those things belong in school as well, so we need to look at everyone's perspective on that."

Reinstating the program was a campaign promise of Mayor Ken Sim, and all four trustees from his A Better City Party – Fardikot, Victoria Jung, Alfred Chien and Joshua Zhang – voted in favour of doing so.

So did Christopher Richardson, who ran under ABC until the party cut ties with him upon learning the Canada Revenue Agency had revoked charitable status from a foundation of which Richardson is a director. 

Ready and fellow trustees Janet Fraser, Suzie Mah and Lois Chan-Pedley opposed the motion.

Last week, B.C.'s human rights commissioner spoke out against SLO programs and questioned the idea that they are necessary for school safety. 

"I strongly recommend that all school districts end the use of SLOs until the impact of these programs can be established empirically," Kasari Govender wrote in an open letter to trustees.

"For school boards who choose not to take this step, it is incumbent on you to produce independent evidence of a need for SLOs that cannot be met through civilian alternatives and to explain the actions you are taking to address the concerns raised by Indigenous, Black and other marginalized communities."

Fardikot's motion cites a "notable increase in youth-involved violence" that she claims corresponds to the end of the SLO program.

The Vancouver Police Department does not release youth-specific crime statistics in its quarterly reports to the Vancouver Police Board, but did highlight a handful of youth-involved incidents in its third-quarter update.

Statistics Canada data on youth crime includes both incidents in which charges were laid and incidents in which youth were diverted out of the criminal justice system. The most recent report, which covers 2021, notes that nation-wide these numbers have been trending downward for decades.

The Youth Crime Severity Index, which measures both the volume and severity of crime involving youth accused has fallen 50 per cent in Canada since 2011, and B.C. had the second-lowest in the country last year behind Prince Edward Island.

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Lisa Steacy