A PLEA FOR COPPING. In ditching campus cops, school districts have learned, like Dr. Frankenstein, that not all experiments turn out well. “After school police are cut back, violence rises.”
In June 2020, the United Teachers of Los Angeles passed a motion to eliminate school police, and replace them with counselors and mental health programs. The union asserted, “Police presence in schools leads to negative outcomes for Black and Brown students, who are arrested and disciplined at higher rates than their peers.” Then, like an obedient puppy, the Los Angeles Unified School District board decided in February of this year to cut 133 or about 40% of its school cops in favor of kinder and gentler “climate coaches.” It was also decided that police will no longer patrol campuses, and will only be called upon to respond in-person during emergencies.