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SLO Program Student and Stakeholder Engagement Report

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SLO Program Student and Stakeholder Engagement Report Vancouver School Board School Liaison Officer: Student and Stakeholder Engagement Program March 2021 Table of Contents Executive summary ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 Background ......................................................................................................................................................................... 5 Engagement approach .................................................................................................................................................... 6 Overview, goals, and objectives ............................................................................................................................... 6 A flexible, adaptable, and sensitive approach to engagement ....................................................................... 8 Engagement methods ................................................................................................................................................... 10 Engagement considerations ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Who we heard from ....................................................................................................................................................... 12 What we heard ................................................................................................................................................................ 15 Discussion groups ...................................................................................................................................................... 15 Interviews ...................................................................................................................................................................... 17 Survey ............................................................................................................................................................................ 21 Who we heard from .............................................................................................................................................. 21 Detailed overview of survey responses............................................................................................................ 23 What we heard: Suggestions for the future of the SLO program ................................................................42 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................................................43 Next steps .....................................................................................................................................................................43 Appendices .......................................................................................................................................................................45 Appendix A: Detailed engagement methods Appendix B: List of stakeholders contacted Appendix C: VSB/VPD School Liaison Program Review (January 2021) Appendix D: Written submissions – verbatim Appendix E: Written submissions – template letter and signatories 2 Executive summary The School Liaison Officer (SLO) program has operated in Vancouver School Board (VSB) schools since 1972. Currently, School Liaison Officers (SLOs) are stationed in all 17 of the district’s secondary schools, with 15 VPD police constables and two designated sergeants across the city of Vancouver, and RCMP officers serving the one secondary and two elementary schools on the University Endowment Lands. In 2020, acts of racism and discrimination involving police in North America elevated our collective consciousness and concern, while also raising questions from the community about police presence in schools. The VSB responded to calls from community by requesting that a review of the SLO program be completed to inform the Board in making decisions as to the future of the program in Vancouver schools. After issuing a competitive bidding Request for Proposals process, VSB contracted Argyle Communications Inc. as a neutral, third-party organization to conduct this engagement, with direction to collect input from students and stakeholders. Engagement included interviews, discussion groups, surveys and a written submission process. Under the Board’s direction, the engagement program centered the voices of students who self- identified as Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) and/or with direct experience with the SLO program itself. Through engagement several high-level themes emerged: • Overall, students shared a range of experiences with the program, with positive, neutral/indifferent, and negative responses. Positive responses tended to mention supportive, trusting relationships with SLOs, whereas negative responses spoke to SLOs as intimidating and unwelcoming. The theme of safety emerged across responses, with positive responses seeing SLOs as contributing to safety, security, and support and negative responses connecting SLOs to feelings of fear, anxiety, and discomfort. • Students who self-identified as Black and Indigenous were more likely to mention police as symbols of larger societal concerns, including systemic racism, oppression, and abuses of power. These comments often reflected personal, lived experience with SLOs and policing in their communities. • Students who self-identified as BIPOC often expressed a personal connection with SLOs and appreciated a trusted figure to go to for guidance and conversation. Of these students, there was a mix of personal and secondhand experience (perception), with personal experience tending to be associated with positive feelings and perception often tied to sentiments of neutrality or indifference. 3 • Ideas about changes to the program ranged from “keep it as is,” to “end it.” For those who want the program to continue with some changes made, suggestions included officers not in uniform, not carrying arms, and undergoing more training, particularly related to cultural sensitivity and mental health, and having more accountability in place. • For those who want the program to continue with a lot of changes made, suggestions included moving towards an approach that addresses the power dynamic of having officers in schools and implementing training/selection processes that prioritize having SLOs that are representative of Vancouver demographics. • Respondents who wanted to see the program ended or radically reformed referred to broader concerns about police in schools and connections to systemic racism, discrimination, and oppression. Many expressed a desire to explore alternatives, including removing ties to the VPD and implementing a restorative or transformative justice approach grounded in community care and support for all students. This report will be presented to School Trustees at their March 3 Policy and Governance Committee meeting. Trustees will consider learnings from this review and input from stakeholders and broader community members in making recommendations about the future of the SLO program. 4 Background About the SLO program In April of 1972, the Vancouver Police Department’s (VPD)’s School Liaison Unit was established, with service beginning at Killarney Secondary School. According to VPD, the SLO program aims to combine education, investigation, investigation, law enforcement, counseling, crime prevention, and community relations to meet the diverse needs of residents in the school community. Drawing from VPD’s definition, SLO’s aim to enhance the safety and security of schools by delivering safety and crime prevention lessons to students, staff and parents; act as a legal resource; speak to students informally; investigate criminal offences related to the school and its population; and act as a liaison between the school and the criminal justice system. In addition to the SLO program, VPD also operates the School Safety Patrol which teaches elementary school children about safety issues. The School Safety Patrol also oversees school crossing guards and parent parking. The SLO program serves about one-quarter of the 50,000 students enrolled across the district. About the engagement program Argyle was contracted in mid-December 2020 with a mandate to deliver a robust student and stakeholder engagement program that reported back to Trustees by early March 2021. Given the short timeframe, we drew on existing connections with community leaders and liaisons to reach VSB students. Our engagement approach was grounded in care and cultural sensitivity. We strove to make sure engagement was accessible and inclusive, and that all participants in the review process had a safe setting in which to share their experiences and opinions. It is important to note that Argyle was not asked to independently make recommendations on the future of the SLO program. Rather we were asked to structure and facilitate a safe, open, and transparent process to gather input and feedback. This report includes a summary of all responses and input that we received, including understandings of the SLO program, experiences with the SLO program, and suggestions for the SLO program’s future. 5 Engagement approach Overview, goals, and objectives Working with Trustees, we established an engagement program goal to: • Conduct an
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