POLICE CONTACT WITH STUDENTS AT SCHOOL

Background

In maintaining a positive and healthy school environment within the larger community, it is important to have a respectful and cooperative relationship between school personnel and police departments.  At the same time, we must attend to our duty “in loco parentis” on behalf of the child.

School personnel will co-operate with personnel from law enforcement agencies following legal guidelines and local protocols which maintain the school’s responsibility to provide for the student’s well being.  Involvement of the police with the school may be as a result of:

• A student requesting information or guidance.
• A student indicating that they have been a victim of a criminal act.
• The Principal’s belief that a student may have committed a crime while at school.
• A request by police to question a student in connection with an investigation of a crime on or off school property.

Procedures

1. Except in crisis situations where it would be impractical for police personnel to make initial contact with a Principal, all police contact with students at school shall occur with the knowledge and consent of the Principal, and with prior notification so that police arrival at the school can be anticipated and accommodated as practical, and so that parent contact can be made if possible.
2. The duty of an educator to act “in loco parentis” on behalf of a child remains a priority in dealing with police involvement in the school.
3. In situations where police wish to have contact with students at school, the Principal shall:
   1. Request that the police complete interviews, questioning, searches and arrests at the student’s home or at another location away from the school if possible.
   2. Make every attempt to notify the parents and confirm whether they wish to attend.The Principal will document attempts to make contact.
   3. Determine from the police officer what the nature of the contact will be:conversation, questioning, or arrest.
   4. Note the officer’s name, badge number and case number for identification purposes and record keeping.
   5. Ensure that they will attend the interview in the absence of the student’s parents.
   6. Verify that the student understands that they are under no requirement by the Principal to participate in the interview or to answer questions.
   7. Decide where in the school the interview or arrest will take place in order to protect privacy and maintain the regular functioning of the school.
   8. Be sure that in all cases, complete records are kept of the circumstances of the police contact with students.
   9. Be certain that they, if present at the interview, do not participate in the questioning.
   10. Ensure that they do not act, or appear to act, as a representative of the police, and provide guidance to all school staff to ensure that no one from the school appears to be acting as a representative of the police.
   11. Provide, if requested by police, student demographic information.
   12. Proceed with any school-level investigation and/or other discipline-related steps as necessary once the initial police contact at the school has ended and be clear with the student and parents that the school-related consequences that may result will be determined separately from the police investigation and outcomes.