Politics & Government
Pleasanton Council To Discuss On-Campus Policing Changes Tuesday
The city seeks to address de-escalation strategies and reduce mental health detentions in a new agreement with the police department.
PLEASANTON, CA — The Pleasanton City Council on Tuesday will discuss entering a memorandum of understanding with the police department regarding school resource officers on city campuses.
Pleasanton police have provided at least two full-time school resource officers (SROs) to Pleasanton K-12 schools since 2002, adding a level of security and acting as liaisons between the district and the city.
But the program faced scrutiny after protests over the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in 2020 and other incidents of police misconduct across the nation. Subsequent meetings held by the city raised questions about the necessity of police at schools.
Find out what's happening in Pleasantonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
According to a city staff report, between 2015 and 2019, Pleasanton police responded to an average of 1,089 calls per year for service at city schools.
The agreement being discussed Tuesday, jointly created by the city and the school district, will formalize the relationship and outline its expectations. The community was surveyed earlier this year, with the majority of respondents - 1,240 parents/guardians, 638 students and 378 staff members - favored keeping the officers.
Find out what's happening in Pleasantonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
But some respondents said more positive interactions between police and students were necessary, mentioning a need for officers to be better trained in mental health issues and anti-bias, anti-bullying, and anti-racism strategies.
The proposed MOU will address de-escalation strategies, access to student records, and building relationships between police and students. It also seeks to "balance enforcement needs and create support and confidence."
It also aims to reduce the number of mental health detentions and supports more non-confrontational and de-escalation strategies, whenever possible.
The Pleasanton City Council meets virtually at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and can be seen on the city's YouTube channel or online.
Copyright © 2021 Bay City News, Inc. All rights reserved. Republication, rebroadcast or redistribution without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited. Bay City News is a 24/7 news service covering the greater Bay Area.
