To serve and protect

By Morgan Selvage

Photos by Morgan Selvage

Lockers are slamming, book bags are being stuffed with homework and students are recapping the day’s events. Teachers are finally getting their grading done, now that their students are leaving for the day and the Chicago police are in action.

At King College Prep it is customary to have two or more police officers at school at any given time. And over the past decade more schools have followed King College Prep’s standards for a police presence inside the school and on school grounds. Some schools have even gone as far as having a mini police station in schools, but is this all necessary?

“I think that safety is always positive," said LeeAndra Kahn, assistant principal at King College Prep. "So no matter how the students perceive the police presence, I think keeping a building safe is important.”

In a time when teen violence is on the rise, some question whether police presence in schools is actually a positive thing. Are police presenting themselves in a manner that is effective to students and staff alike, or are they more of a scare tactic? Jeff Wright, principal at King College Prep, said he sees the police as having a positive, calming effect.

“That’s the way I like to see the police, not as a threatening presence, but as a supportive presence,” Wright said. “I know a lot of students that have gone to them with very personal things, whether it’s about relationships with relatives that have become very harmful or threats in their neighborhood. I would never want our police officers to treat you all like prisoners because if our police officers did that, I don’t think you would respect them the same way.”

Youth violence and violence in general have skyrocketed in Chicago and as the city tries to find a way to prevent and combat this scary and very real problem, many students wonder if schools are actually safer with a police presence.

Surprisingly brutality rates are going up among young adults and teenagers and is a problem in the general population as well.

In a recent study done by the National Police Misconduct Statistics and Reporting Project, between the months of April and September of 2009, there were 4,778 incidents of alleged victims of police misconduct in the state of Illinois. It also found that police brutality is at the top of the list in police misconduct by category, at 18.2 percent, with 772 people being victims of police brutality.

At King College Prep, students have their own opinions about police presence and police brutality. One student, who asked to remain anonymous, said she doesn’t feel police officers respect teenagers or people in general.

“No, I don’t think they respect us,” she said. “I think some police officers respect kids and I think others don’t because they feel as if they have this upper hand over us so they’ll disrespect us. Like if you don’t respect us, I’m not gonna respect you."

Officer Mike Miller disagreed. In an interview, he stated: "Kids nowadays have a lack of respect with rules and regulations and older adults."

Another student, who also asked to remain anonymous, said, "It's not that police are necessarily bad, but I think they judge teens as whole based probably on what they typically see in a certain group of teens."

Whether teenagers feel they are not being respected or the police feel they are not being respected, the common goal should be to stop the violence among teens and young adults, but how?

Miller said he believes the key to getting through to teens is showing them that you care.

"What I see now is kids that don't care how much you know or who you are," Miller said. "They want to see that you care. That's my assessment on teens today." (In January 2010, the Chicago police department announced the reinstatement of its "Officer Friendly" program in a few elementary schools in Englewood to help build a more positive relationship between the police and the community and to share ideas about safety and citizenship.)

This assessment may be true, but the commonality that teens and adults alike share is they want respect. Teens want to be respected as bright, young adults who are capable of making decisions as they grow into adults and head into the world. Police officers want to be respected as an authority figure who are working hard to enforce the law and keep everyone safe.

Miller said he doesn't care if a kid likes him, he wants just wants respect.

"How do you form a relationship when there seems to be a power struggle between child and adult? You have to care, show that you care so they kids can see it," he said.

But, with the recent rise in youth violence inside and outside of Chicago schools, specifically the beating death of 16-year-old student Derrion Albert at Fenger High School, caring may not be the best way to prevent violence. This is why principals and school officials have decided to increase school security, including police presence in school.

Miller said an increased police presence might help, but he said training officers to work with teens is key in building a relationship that will work in schools.

"I don't see a rise in police brutality, but I think that some officers are not trained properly to handle teens," Miller said. "In turn, (they) don't know how to deal with them. I think it's a society thing."

No matter if it's a society thing or a respect thing, students and police officers need to join forces to prevent violence and tensions before there is another case like the brutal beating of Derrion Albert. Students have to stand up to violence before schools become even less safe than they already are.