Date: Friday, December 6, 2024 Victoria, BC – I was extremely pleased to hear the Minister’s announcement this morning and to see this development, for the safety of our schools and our youth. I have been disappointed in the lack of collaborative movement forward on this issue, and am glad to know that we will soon be sitting down to work on a plan together with our community partners. Although I have been vocal about my belief that police should be in schools, as part of the learning community, to build relationships that help prevent the rise in concerning behaviour we’ve seen, as a resource for educators, and as a deterrent to gang recruitment activity, I also recognize that there are concerns and that there is room for improvement. Earlier this year, I called for a committee to be formed to work on addressing the concerns about SPLOs, and I’m happy to hear that a committee will now be formed - to focus not only on the police-school relationship, but to develop a comprehensive safety plan that includes preventative measures. As I have said before, I am committed to working with the Board, and all of our community partners, to develop a plan that is responsive to community needs and concerns but also keeps our kids and schools safe, now and in the future. I believe there is a strong framework in the work that was done by the SPLO Review Committee, and in the safety plan that we presented to the Board at the beginning of this summer, to help us get started. In the meantime, I hope that we can all move forward with an eye to building trust and mutual understanding, and remain focused on student safety as a first priority.

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Chief Manak | Statement On School Safety Announcement

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