Editorial: Strong police presence is vital to safer schools
Derren Hayes
Monday, September 1, 2014
CYP Now's investigation into school safety reveals some worrying trends in terms of the reduction in police presence in schools. A third of police forces have cut the number of PCs and community support officers based in schools over the past two years, while overall numbers of officers dedicated to this type of work has also fallen over the same period.
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.
This is the kind of work that is key to making a lasting impact on the lives of young people, forging a culture of respect in schools and shaping the communities in which they live. The silver lining of CYP Now's research findings is that more schools are now signed up to SSPs. However, the concern must be that if school-based officer numbers continue to fall, this work will be ever harder to deliver and the chances of tragedy striking again will rise.
Pressure set to grow for national CSE inquiry
The child sexual exploitation (CSE) scandal that has engulfed Rotherham over the past week has revealed the truly shocking extent of abuse that took place over 16 years dating back to 1997, as well as the inexplicable failure by child protection agencies in the Yorkshire town to get a grip on the problem. Much of the coverage has rightly focused on the actions of former senior employees of Rotherham Council, as well as senior police officers, for not taking allegations of CSE seriously and in so doing allowing it to go unchecked for so long. But the case also raises questions about the ability of the child protection system to identify and deal with CSE effectively.
Children's commissioner for England Maggie Atkinson is unequivocal in her view that this is not a problem confined to Rotherham, while the government has pledged that its recently-commissioned independent child abuse inquiry will consider the extent of CSE. But if the revelations continue and problems at other councils emerge, the pressure will grow for a standalone investigation into how the child protection system tackles CSE.
derren.hayes@markallengroup.com
