Police officers will once again be invited into New Westminster schools — but it doesn’t signal a return of the school liaison officer program.
New Westminster’s school board and police department have signed a memorandum of understanding that defines the role that police officers will play in local schools through the new Police Partnership Program (PPP). A new school district policy establishes a framework for the PPP.
“The proposed framework does not envision a return to the previous model in which police officers were assigned to schools, nor does it contemplate an arrangement in which police officers would routinely enter schools as part of their regular patrol duties or daily responsibilities,” states a report by New West Schools superintendent Mark Davidson. “Rather, the proposed framework describes the development of a different type of partnership.”
Through the program, a designated NWPD unit would work collaboratively with the district to provide preventative, educational and supportive services to schools when invited by district staff.
In April 2021, the school board voted to end the longstanding school liaison officer program because of concerns about the impact of a police presence in schools may have on BIPOC students. The board also directed staff to collaborate with the NWPD on the re-design of their relationship, specifically around protocols and training for emergency procedures in schools including critical incidents, lockdowns and violent threat assessments.
At the board’s March 2026 meeting, several delegates spoke about the proposed program, including former trustee Mark Gifford. He said the presence of police officers can be particularly challenging for students from families with precarious immigration status, students with mental health conditions, and Indigenous, Black or racialized students whose families have had challenging experiences with police or authorities.
“Police should be used very judiciously and very carefully,” he said. “For many students, the increased presence of police is a sign of risk.”
Under the PPP, partner officers (POs) will focus on prevention, education, relationship-building and support for victims of crime.
“Presentations and so on would be by invitation,” Davidson told delegates. “Folks would be told in advance that the police were coming to do a presentation.”
In April, the school board unanimously approved the PPP policy, as well as a memorandum of understanding outlining the roles, responsibilities and expectations of the school district and NWPD.
Police on board
NWPD Deputy Chief Const. Andrew Perry said the department already helps schools with lockdown drills and violent threat assessments. He said this program is a “community engagement initiative” through which officers will participate in presentations at schools — when asked and when they’re available.
“We are not walking around the schools. We are not going to be present there,” he told the police board at its May meeting. “It is going to have to require a phone call to that individual member.”
Perry said the department will participate in the program based on the availability of staff, recognizing there are “competing priorities” in the community.
Perry said some community members fear the program will be enforcement-based but that’s not the case.
“We have daycares, we have immigration services that ask us to attend to do presentations — now, it’s the schools,” he said. “It’s just another organization asking us to show up and do that.”
Community members — including students — had varying opinions on the school district’s decision to eliminate the school liaison officer program. Some felt armed officers are disturbing to some students, while others said the presence of police officers provided them with a sense of safety.
Tasha Henderson, chair of the police board, said part of the board’s role will be managing community expectations about the new program.
“There are folks who have concerns that this is a return to something different or there is going to be a heavy police presence in schools at all times, and so they will feel frustrated,” she said. “And I think the community members who felt really strongly about wanting police back in schools fulltime will feel frustrated to learn it is not that.”
By Theresa McManus, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Original Published on Jun 05, 2026 at 16:00
Recent Comments