Dive Summary:
- After the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting, the National Rifle Association proposed an increase in police presence in schools, a recommendation the Obama administration echoed.
- However, advocacy groups and judges are drawing attention to how increases in police presence have coincided with a big spike in arrests and criminal charges for student behavior they believe merits no more than a trip to the principal's office.
- Civil rights groups say that black and Hispanic students in particular are getting the short end of the stick, with many receiving little to no legal help as they face permanent stains on their criminal records at a young age.
From the article:
"... While schools may bring in police officers to provide security, the officers often end up handling discipline and handing out charges of disorderly conduct or assault, said Michael Nash, the presiding judge of juvenile court in Los Angeles and the president of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.
'You have to differentiate the security issue and the discipline issue,' he said. 'Once the kids get involved in the court system, it’s a slippery slope downhill.' ..."
