The Runnymede Trust has long campaigned for the removal of Safer Schools Officers from UK schools, and so we support the Met’s recent announcement to do so.

‍

There is no credible or conclusive evidence that police make schools safer. There is, however, considerable qualitative evidence about the harm caused by police in schools. As we saw with regards Child Q - bringing policing into learning environments can inflict devastating and life-altering harm on children.

‍

Our research demonstrates that police officers are likely to be concentrated in working class areas, with disproportionate numbers of students of colour. Removing police from schools will serve to address this over-policing of children of colour, and communities of colour more broadly.

‍

We do however recognise the concerns expressed by some from the teaching community about this withdrawal and the nature in which it was conducted. That is why we urge that the removal of SSOs is accompanied by active government investment in schools and school pastoral services - including youth work, school nurses, and on-site mental health support - that support and care for our children and young people as they navigate the challenging world they are growing up in.

‍

This could mark a step towards building schools that respect and nurture all children and young people and enable them to thrive in places of learning, growth and support, not in schools that operate as extensions of our policing and criminal justice system.

‍