Background:
The history of the School Resource Officer (SRO) goes back to the early 1960s when the Mountain View Police Department (MVPD) established its first dedicated youth position. The purpose of the SRO program is to assign specially selected and trained officers to work in partnership with Mountain View schools and develop relationships with students and families to help support positive youth development and guide young people away from gang involvement and criminal behavior. This involves enrichment programs, mentoring, home visits, educational presentations, and other activities as well as investigating and responding to criminal matters in a way that avoids engagement in the criminal justice system to the full extent possible.
Over the years, the SRO Program has helped numerous youth and families and operated effectively due to the strong collaboration between MVWSD, MVLA, and the City. The City received feedback from the public in 2020 about police presence in schools in the context of national and local protests for racial justice and police reform.
In December 2020, the City Council established the Public Safety Advisory Board (PSAB) to make recommendations on public safety matters. On June 22, 2021, Council referred to the PSAB an item to review the MVPD SRO program, seek community input, and provide feedback to the City Council. The PSAB established a subcommittee that worked from July to November 2021, gathering input from the MVWSD and MVLA school communities. Input was collected through a survey of middle and high school students, parents, and school staff, as well as conversations with parents, students, school staff, school district leaders, and community groups.
For the middle school students who took the survey, more than half (54%) were positive or very positive about having SROs on campus, 37% were neutral, and only 9% were negative or very negative. The PSAB heard updates and took public comments about the SRO program at their meetings in June and October 2021.
The PSAB subcommittee’s recommendations were presented to the PSAB on November 18, 2021. PSAB’s recommendations went to the City Council on January 25. 2022, including that an MOU be established with both MVWSD and MVLA and clearly stating the purpose, goals and guiding principles of the SRO Program, as informed by the community feedback and PSAB’s assessment. MVWSD and City staff worked together to create the MOU.
Fiscal Implication:
None.
Recommended Action:
It is recommended that the Board of Trustees approve the MOU on the School Resource Officer Program.