Shootings Nearby Portland Schools: A trend of gun violence outside of Portland’s high schools has prompted discussions between school and police authorities. There has been no announcement of any concrete plans. Since October, five high school students at a Portland school have been shot at in four separate instances near the school. Authorities have not made any connections between the violence and motives consistent with those of school shooters.
Security Debates Are Prompted By Recent Shootings Nearby Portland Schools
There have been no fatalities as a result of the gunfire outside Jefferson, Cleveland, and Franklin high schools. Two students were injured outside Jefferson in October, and each subsequent incident involved only one student.
Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero issued a statement on Monday in which she expressed relief that no one was critically injured in the Franklin High shooting, which occurred outside during a basketball game, and that a suspect had been apprehended. Guerrero is advocating for a “complete community safety strategy” that prioritises the protection of children as well as adults in order to reduce gun violence in Portland, Oregon.
Guerrero stated this week that efforts to increase patrols in the area immediately surrounding schools will be accelerated through collaboration with the City. District officials have indicated that more information about the ongoing security measures may be released this week.
Neither the Portland Public Schools nor the Portland Police Bureau have issued any statements about additional security measures since Monday. Prior to the latest incident in Portland, the Focused Intervention Team Community Oversight Group discussed reinstating police presence in the city’s schools.
During the January 5 meeting, Lt. Kenneth Duilio mentioned the possibility of reintroducing a school resource officer. Duilio has led the Focused Intervention Team, a citywide initiative to reduce gun violence, since its inception this year.
Portland Public Schools Superintendent Guadalupe Guerrero is calling for a “comprehensive neighborhood safety plan” to protect children and adults from gun violence. https://t.co/1aFrIBNAVl
— OPB (@OPB) January 12, 2023
“I just know there have been some discussions based on the incidents surrounding Jefferson High School and then the other shooting that occurred over at Cleveland High School,” Duilio added. Furthermore, “that is essentially up to the [police] chief’s level with the PPS Superintendent.”
A school resource officer is a police officer whose job is to keep the school safe and orderly. Following the 2020 racial justice demonstrations, school districts across the country, including Portland, agreed to remove such officers from their classrooms.
Stephanie Howard, the mayor’s director of community safety, stated during the January meeting that no decision had been made to resurrect the school resource officer program and that any policy changes would be made “absolutely, with community participation.”
The nonprofit newspaper Education Week summarises what is known about school resource officers, noting that studies have shown that such officers typically penalise Black and Hispanic students at higher rates than white students. However, Portland would not be alone in reconsidering its decision to remove such police from schools. Some cities that have decided against eliminating school resource officers include Pomona, California, Alexandria, Virginia, and Champaign, Illinois.
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