School officers across the state turned to heavy-handed tactics on children, often in response to minor misbehavior, our investigation shows.
School officers across the state turned to heavy-handed tactics on children, often in response to minor misbehavior, our investigation shows.
It probably depends on the college. At my college, they’re real police. I’ve taken training alongside them (for example, a class on responding to a mental health crisis), and trainings they’ve taught (ex: deescalation).
The campus police want us to believe that they’re focused on keeping everyone safe while minimizing the students’ exposure to the legal system. They’re paid by the college and the college wants to retain students. They’ll send students to campus programs (counseling, primarily) instead of arresting them, that sort of thing. And there are problems on campus where you want some sort of security: walking back to your car at night after a creepy encounter with a patron, someone backs in to your car in the parking garage, someone overdosed in a bathroom.
I do believe them that they’re less harsh than the city police, but that’s not saying much.
Thanks for a very good explanation.