Police in Middle School: Disciplinary Overkill?

A story in last week's Seattle Times reported that five public middle schools in the area will have a police presence on their campuses. According to the report, the officers will "wear 'soft uniforms' that look more like street clothes," and their job will be "to counsel and mentor" rather than simply enforce the law.

Seattle has a gang problem, and the idea behind this new measure is that having police on site will deter at-risk middle school students from committing acts of violence. In today's paper, Jerry Large's column acknowledges the potential utility of this plan while noting that using other means to address the underlying issues contributing to youth violence would be a preferable solution.

It's a problematic situation, and one that may have unforeseen consequences. Yes, having police officers on campuses may prevent a small percentage of students from becoming involved in criminal activity. It may also make other students feel—and actually be—safer, which could well be the most important consideration.

But a police presence in middle school conveys the message, to relatively young and impressionable students, that both their environment and their classmates are potentially dangerous—too dangerous for their principal, counselors, and teachers to cope with on their own. Paradoxically, this may actually make nonviolent students feel less safe; more important, it may also weaken school officials' authority, inflate criminal youths' sense of power, and, ultimately, have no effect—or even a negative effect—on the incidence of youth violence.