Police-led programming may be gone from Simcoe County schools, but it hasn’t been forgotten by officials in Bradford and Innisfil.
Based on correspondence from the Town of Wasaga Beach, Bradford councillors voted in favour of a motion to send a letter of support for the return of school resource officers (SROs) to Minister of Education Stephen Lecce, Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, as well as the public, Catholic and French school boards, during the regular meeting of council on Jan. 16.
SROs and police-led programming like Drug Abuse Resistance Education (DARE) or South Simcoe Police Service’s Be The Real You (BTRU) were cancelled by both the public and Catholic school boards in the spring of 2023. Trustees at the Simcoe County District School Board were informed during their meeting on April 12 and trustees at the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board being informed at their meeting on April 17.
Deputy Mayor Raj Sandhu put forward the motion in hopes of reversing the situation.
“It was a huge benefit,” he said “It was a benefit to the students that they had someone there to talk to and it was a benefit to the community because someone was there from our service to help out if there was any issues brewing.”
Multiple councillors voiced support for the motion, with Coun. Peter Dykie noting the programs had been “very successful” in the past, and Coun. Cheraldean Duhaney saying officers’ presence in schools could turn around young people’s “mostly negative” perceptions of police and “build trust with the community.”
“I totally support this,” Coun. Ben Verkaik said. “The reasons they dropped it were pretty vague.”
Both boards claimed the programs had been put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the public board saying that began for the 2021-22 school year. That was only a few months after presentations from two different parent groups in June 2021 calling for the dissolution of police programs in schools.
Coun. Nickolas Harper supported the motion but wondered how it would impact South Simcoe police resources, and Mayor James Leduc noted the service already had two community resource officers in place before the cancellation.
Two days later, during the Bradford West Gwillimbury/Innisfil Police Services Board meeting, Insp. Henry Geoffroy confirmed that re-implementing the SROs or programming would not have a negative financial impact on the service.
While the community resource officers have since redeployed to other areas, Geoffroy suspected that pivoting them back would actually help save the service resources in the long-term, thanks to the pro-active effect of having police in schools.
During that same meeting, Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin brought up the topic for discussion and confirmed Innisfil council would also be voting on a similar motion.
“From my perspective, it’s not about policing — it’s about having students feel comfortable around officers and know that they’re somebody to run to and not away from, and developing that relationship early and continuing it throughout,” she said.
Based on conversations she recently had with one of the public trustees, Dollin suggested Chief John Van Dyke and police services board chair Chris Gariepy meet with the trustees from Bradford and Innisfil to discuss the issue, as well as promote the service’s community resource officers and BTRU program.
However, the chief explained that, as he understood, the public board is not keen on re-implementing the program.
A meeting between various police services and public school board officials took place on Dec. 15, but Van Dyke was unable to attend as a member of the service passed away that day, and had been updated on the outcome afterwards.
“Basically, they’re not interested in our traditional programs. It’s definitely a change of mindset from the board,” Van Dyke said. “They would welcome our members into the schools for presentations like cyber-bullying and are willing to provide classrooms for presentation to parents as well.”
The chief is still hoping to meet with public board officials to discuss the benefits of the BTRU program.
Leduc said members of Bradford council had already met with trustees from all boards and when it comes to the removal of SROs from schools “the trustees seem to be realizing that that was a mistake.
"Hopefully we can convince the board that these programs have to be back," he added.
The local push follows a similar sentiment from County of Simcoe councillors, who voted unanimously during their meeting on Nov. 28 to send a letter of support to the Township of Adjala-Tosorontio for that council’s resolution on a “valuable service to continue within the school community.”
Wasaga Beach Deputy Mayor Tanya Snell, who also sits on county council and is a former public school board trustee, said she sat at the table at the time the decision was made to remove SROs from schools, and admitted the decision may have been too hasty.
— With files from Jessica Owen and Nikki Cole
