Police will offer security and not punishment to DPS students

SOME 11 HIGH SCHOOLS HAVE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS

Newsroom El Comercio de Colorado

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All Denver Public School (DPS) schools resumed their normal operations after the 2023 vacation. In this resumption of classes, some 11 of the 50 DPS high schools now have School Resource Officers ( SRO) trained and supplied by the Denver Police Department (DPD). DPD is paying the full cost of keeping the SROs in those schools.

This agreement between DPS and DPS is different than the one that existed before the pandemic. Previously, these two institutions shared the cost of SROs. In the 2019-2020 school year, DPS paid $720,000 and a similar amount was assumed by DPD. The tragedy of March 22 forced the mayor of Denver himself, Michael Hancock, to offer covering these costs in exchange for the DPS allowing the return of SROs to schools.

The DPS approved the return of the officers on March 23. The SROs will follow the same guidelines and perform the same functions as established in the intergovernmental agreement between DPS and DPD signed for the 2018-2019 school year. There is no knowledge of the signing of a different agreement so far. This agreement has well defined tasks related to security and discipline, which has criminal consequences.

Retrained officers

“Officers who have been assigned have new training. They have been prepared to know how to interact with students. They are there to ensure and facilitate high school safety. They do not come to discipline or punish students. Taking discipline-related responsibilities ended up causing DPD officers to walk out of schools a few years ago,” said DPS spokesman Javier Ibarra.

Ibarra emphasizes that the new SROs assigned to schools have clearly established the nature of their functions and the greater weight that security tasks have over disciplinary ones. About 8 of the 11 assigned officers previously worked as SROs in DPS schools. However, not everyone had that task in 2020 when the school board voted to remove police from schools.

SROs were phased out of Denver schools over a year. The last officers left their posts in June 2021. Youth violence has been on the rise this year. A 16-year-old East High student, Luis Garcia, died of his injuries after being shot in February while he was sitting in his car outside the school. In the March 22 shooting at the same school a student shot and wounded two deans.

Other security measures

With the return of SROs, DPS hopes to deepen existing measures to ensure safety. “We are going to maintain the security levels that were already established. A magnet was added to all school doors at the beginning of this year. The magnet alerts if that door is left open for too long. So, it is a way for our security guards, even the directors, to know if something irregular happens,” added Ibarra.

The spokesman explains that they combine technology and the reinforcement of school personnel who work on security tasks. These are DPS officers. “We have our own security officers. We apply several levels of security. In addition, the patrolling in the exterior areas of the schools is coordinated with the DPD. This patrol moves from school to school. If necessary, these officers could enter,” he said.

Final message

Ibarra confirmed that an updated comprehensive security plan will be presented by Alex Marrero, DPS Superintendent, in June. That plan will be discussed by the DPS board of directors and will begin to be implemented in the fall of 2023.