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@TrishEstabrooks, the "evidence" on SROs already exists. There have been countless studies done on SROs already, particularly in the U.S.
To believe that SROs in Edmonton are fundamentally different, you need to believe that Edmonton exists outside of the racist and colonial structures that pervade all policing.
After 6 days of testimony from BIPOC community members recounting the violence done by police, it is abundantly clear that Edmonton is not some magical exception to these structures.
According to the ACLU, the origins of school policing in the U.S. stem from white backlash against desegregation.
SROs are an extension of "broken windows policing," which has greatly expanded the role and the powers of policing so as to target so-called anti-social and disruptive behaviours.
Broken windows policing is predicated on the production of Black and brown people as disruptive elements in society. SROs replicate this logic.
As outlined in this report by the African Canadian Legal Clinic, "The single statistically verifiable consequence of implementing the SRO program is the increase in direct youth referrals to the justice system by schools." https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CERD/Shared%20Documents/CAN/INT_CERD_NGO_CAN_28173_E.pdf
This report concludes that "placing uniformed police officers in schools with high populations of Black students is a form of psychological violence."
