School District of Greater Victoria instructed to develop school safety plan with police: B.C.

The province’s education minister is ordering the Greater Victoria School Board to improve its relationship with local police forces and collaborate with them on a school safety plan.

Last year, a letter from the Greater Victoria Teachers Association (GVTA) regarding the presence of police in schools said that it was “evident that SLO programs cause harm that negatively affects the safety, rights, and sense of belonging that many marginalized people experience in school.”

“Public conversations over the last several years have highlighted that Canada’s policing and criminal justice systems have been founded on and continue to perpetuate systemic racism. For our schools to take meaningful anti-racist action, we must not ignore this legacy, or the ongoing harm caused by police,” a further excerpt from the letter read.

This was criticised by Victoria’s police chief who said they have heard support for the program from parents, the province, and other community members.

Victoria Police Department Chief Del Manak says the letter “inaccurately” painted school liaison officers in a negative light.

“This letter paints a picture of officers surveilling students and patrolling hallways, getting to make arrests. This is simply not true. The role of the school liaison officers is to build positive relationships and trust with students, which organically establishes mentorship and role models,” he said.

Now, Minister of Education and Child Care Rachna Singh says the district must come up with a safety plan by mid-November and work with the police to do so.

In a release Tuesday, the province says the safety will address increased gang activity, include commitment to improve the relationship between the school board and police, establish proactive safety and crime prevention response strategies, establish a trauma-informed approach for student-officer interactions, include a protocol for communication and coordination between the school board and police, describe the roles and responsibilities of the board and the police, and establish a process for when/if the safety plan requires any changes.

“As a key part of the development of the safety plan, the board will detail how it will collaborate with the police, First Nations, individuals, organizations and service providers that relate to supporting the safety and well-being of students at school,” the province said.

“This will promote mutual respect, support, integrity, accountability, and the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion within the plan and for the greater school community.”

1130 NewsRadio has reached out to the Greater Victoria Teachers’ Association and school board trustees for comment.

-With files from James Paracy and David Nadalini.