While it is unclear whether these cuts have led to a rise in the overall number of police forces that have no officers in schools, the plain fact of the matter is that now half of English forces have no school-based officers.
The findings come at a time when school safety is under the spotlight more than ever before following the killing earlier this year of teacher Ann Maguire at the hands of one of her pupils at Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that having a police officer at the school would have prevented that tragedy occurring, just as installing airport-style metal detectors at school gates in the US have been unable to stop all student violence there. Sometimes it is impossible to prevent such incidents, but that is not what having police in schools is primarily about. Through the Safer School Partnerships (SSP) initiative, police, schools and local authorities have been able to work together to make the school environment safer, build positive relationships with pupils and address antisocial and criminal behaviour early.
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