Cops' Comeback to Campus Creates Controversy
Despite being removed from campus over the summer, SROs are now being added back on campus.
By Mia Howell
Despite being removed from campus over the summer, SROs are now being added back on campus.
By Mia Howell
On March 4, several students from Branham High School came onto Pioneer’s campus, and the San Jose Police Department was called. The students from Branham were asked to leave and while most of them cooperated, some didn’t.
The response was quicker because with the start of the new semester, SJPD School Resource Officers are back on campus after a semester without them.
The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education ended the contract between SJPD and SJUSD on June 24, 2021 in a 3-2 vote, after considerable public concern over police presence on campus. Officers were kept for security at large school activities such as football games. But on Dec. 9, 2021, the board, in a unanimous vote, brought the contract back, returning SROs to campus with new guidelines and procedures.
The memorandum highlights the rules in place for the officers, such as officers wearing school attire and not SJPD uniforms, that counseling will be offered instead of juvenile delinquency whenever possible, and it clearly states that “student disciplinary matters remain the responsibility of school staff and not officers.”
“We only use our police officers for emergency purposes. I’m the one who does all the discipline. The police officers don’t discipline the students,” said Assistant Principal of Discipline Tim Gavello.
In addition, the board formed an advisory committee on the use of SJPD Officers on school campuses. SJUSD board members are expected to approve funds for 27 police officers, each paid $8,000, for a total of $216,000, to provide police services at schools around the district by June 30.
The memorandum establishes four “primary purposes” for having the officers back on campus.
This includes maintaining a safe and secure campus and developing positive relationships with students. A police liaison vets out the officers to make sure they only have positive impacts on campus.
Sexuality And Gender Alliance co-president Tiana Tran, 12, felt scared for the safety of her own friends, despite the training the officers are receiving.
“I like the effort, but I don’t know how much work they’re going to do with this and with learning how to respect people and their spaces,” said Tran. “It makes me feel a little bit better that they’re implementing it, but it depends on the people.”
SAGA co-president Kole Espinoza, 12, faced pushback from campus police in 2019 during a protest of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ discriminatory “Purity Pledge,” and said they felt that officers were biased and one-sided in the protection of the club.
“After being called a ‘violent disturbance’ at a peaceful protest by an on campus officer, I don’t really feel like they’re there to help me,” said Espinoza.
SROs on campus are required to have training in de-escalation, implicit bias and positive behavioral interventions and strategies. Now-retired police officer of 25 years, Roberto Plamenco, currently works as an SRO on Pioneer’s campus.
“Throughout my career that was always in my head, all that training. In addition to that, before I became a police officer I received my master’s in social work,” said Plamenco. “So I had a grasp of what I would be dealing with and how I would deal with certain behaviors and people so that’s been very helpful.”
Officers have also met with students who are attending the Wellness Center. Students have had the opportunity to ask officers questions and learn about various ways they can improve their safety and support.
“I’ve been here for 21 years now and have met a variety of SROs and I have been impressed with all of them,” said Wellness Center coordinator Amy Hernandez. “I feel like they’ve been supportive, they’ve been easy to talk to, they’ve been helpful.”
Although some people may be weary of the police presence on campus, Plamenco stresses that if students would like to talk, he is always open.
“I’m always open to talk to people. No one has really come up to me to talk to me. I normally don’t approach the students because I respect their space. My office door, in room 105, is an open door if anyone ever wants to talk to me,” said Plamenco.
The response was quicker because with the start of the new semester, SJPD School Resource Officers are back on campus after a semester without them.
The San Jose Unified School District Board of Education ended the contract between SJPD and SJUSD on June 24, 2021 in a 3-2 vote, after considerable public concern over police presence on campus. Officers were kept for security at large school activities such as football games. But on Dec. 9, 2021, the board, in a unanimous vote, brought the contract back, returning SROs to campus with new guidelines and procedures.
The memorandum highlights the rules in place for the officers, such as officers wearing school attire and not SJPD uniforms, that counseling will be offered instead of juvenile delinquency whenever possible, and it clearly states that “student disciplinary matters remain the responsibility of school staff and not officers.”
“We only use our police officers for emergency purposes. I’m the one who does all the discipline. The police officers don’t discipline the students,” said Assistant Principal of Discipline Tim Gavello.
In addition, the board formed an advisory committee on the use of SJPD Officers on school campuses. SJUSD board members are expected to approve funds for 27 police officers, each paid $8,000, for a total of $216,000, to provide police services at schools around the district by June 30.
The memorandum establishes four “primary purposes” for having the officers back on campus.
This includes maintaining a safe and secure campus and developing positive relationships with students. A police liaison vets out the officers to make sure they only have positive impacts on campus.
Sexuality And Gender Alliance co-president Tiana Tran, 12, felt scared for the safety of her own friends, despite the training the officers are receiving.
“I like the effort, but I don’t know how much work they’re going to do with this and with learning how to respect people and their spaces,” said Tran. “It makes me feel a little bit better that they’re implementing it, but it depends on the people.”
SAGA co-president Kole Espinoza, 12, faced pushback from campus police in 2019 during a protest of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ discriminatory “Purity Pledge,” and said they felt that officers were biased and one-sided in the protection of the club.
“After being called a ‘violent disturbance’ at a peaceful protest by an on campus officer, I don’t really feel like they’re there to help me,” said Espinoza.
SROs on campus are required to have training in de-escalation, implicit bias and positive behavioral interventions and strategies. Now-retired police officer of 25 years, Roberto Plamenco, currently works as an SRO on Pioneer’s campus.
“Throughout my career that was always in my head, all that training. In addition to that, before I became a police officer I received my master’s in social work,” said Plamenco. “So I had a grasp of what I would be dealing with and how I would deal with certain behaviors and people so that’s been very helpful.”
Officers have also met with students who are attending the Wellness Center. Students have had the opportunity to ask officers questions and learn about various ways they can improve their safety and support.
“I’ve been here for 21 years now and have met a variety of SROs and I have been impressed with all of them,” said Wellness Center coordinator Amy Hernandez. “I feel like they’ve been supportive, they’ve been easy to talk to, they’ve been helpful.”
Although some people may be weary of the police presence on campus, Plamenco stresses that if students would like to talk, he is always open.
“I’m always open to talk to people. No one has really come up to me to talk to me. I normally don’t approach the students because I respect their space. My office door, in room 105, is an open door if anyone ever wants to talk to me,” said Plamenco.