The Boston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts is thinking about bringing back armed school resource police officers (SRO). 

The school committee voted unanimously to eliminate the program in 2021, during a national reckoning with police brutality.

"We were very concerned about a lot of the national data that indicated that students of color, as well as students with disabilities are more likely to end up being criminalized when police are in schools," said Raul Fernandez, the Executive Director of Brookline For Racial Justice and Equity.  

But Brookline Police Deputy Superintendent Paul Campbell said there have been, "A lot of voices saying, 'We'd like to consider bringing the school resource (officers) back." 

What do school resource police officers do?     

Brookline Police say the purpose of school resource officers is to promote safety and to enhance the relationships between students and officers.

"It's not a law enforcement role. It's almost like a teacher-student type role," Campbell said.

Fernandez disagrees.

"This is a ridiculous conversation that we're even having right now," he said. "It's absolutely not necessary and it also puts my kid at risk."

According to Campbell, SROs are an integral part of the learning experience. Before the role was eliminated, officers taught classes on topics such as internet safety and teen dating violence. But Fernandez says the benefit of those classes don't outweigh the overall risk.

Concerns about armed police at schools

"As I've been told multiple times by members of the police force, an armed officer is an oxymoron," Fernandez said.

"People accept that police officers, they are armed, but they're also safe to be around," Campbell said.

A final decision to reinstate school resource officers will come from the school committee. Brookline's superintendent said they will revisit the topic in the coming months.