PROP Statement on Increase of Police in Schools

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 13th, 2023

NEW YORK, NY — Last week, media outlets reported on an NYPD memo that detailed increased police presence in New York City public schools following recent incidents of violence. The Police Reform Organizing Project (PROP) released the following critical statement in response.

“For years, the NYPD has attempted to respond to violent incidents through ‘all out’ initiatives, or ‘surges.’ However, problems of violence persist — whether near schools or in subways — because we continue to ignore that our city’s social problems cannot be solved by more police. These are problems closely associated with poverty, lack of resources and trauma, it should be noted, that were made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic — not a lack of police.

Recent changes by the NYPD, as reported in the press, include an increase of Youth Coordination Officers (YCOs) in schools. The YCO program was launched three years ago under previous NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. Where is the data or peer-reviewed research that this program has reduced violence? Where is the evidence supporting an increase to this program? The YCO program bills itself as “connecting” with youth but is that a euphemism for police monitoring of young people? Many of the initial batch of YCO Officers have had substantiated complaints of misconduct — a significant red flag for people tasked with keeping tabs on children.

Instead of more police, the City should make historic investments into more school counselors, aides, mediators and other non-police workers who can get to the root causes of violence, like trauma, poverty and stress — things made worse by the COVID pandemic. The Dignity in Schools coalition’s Counselors Not Cops campaign, for example, has long called for “community intervention workers, peacebuilders, behavior interventionists, transformative or restorative justice coordinators… to prevent and address safety concerns and conflicts.”

PROP believes that this is the best strategy to truly deal with violence without the risks associated with more police.”