A Force for Good, Or Policing the Poor? Police Officers Based in Schools in England

A FORCE FOR GOOD, OR POLICING THE POOR? POLICE OFFICERS BASED IN SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND

University of East London

Cass School of Education and Communities

International Centre for Public Pedagogies Seminar Series

We are delighted to announce the following seminar.

Wednesday 24^th January 2018

1-2pm

Room: ED2.04

Amanda Henshall, University of Greenwich

A force for good, or policing the poor? Police officers based in schools in England

Concerns about youth violence and the radicalisation of pupils have contributed to the deployment of onsite police officers in schools in England, particularly since the implementation of Safer School Partnerships from the early 2000s onwards. 

There has been little research undertaken on the work officers do, and how pupils experience the presence of police in their schools. This presentation will focus on recently published research, based on data obtained through a Freedom of Information request to all police forces in England and Wales. The study found that 17 of the 43 police forces base officers in schools. In London specifically, officers were found to be based in 182 secondary schools. Using school characteristics data, the study showed that officers were more likely to be based in schools with a higher percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals. 

In the US, where some ethnographic research has been carried out, studies show that the presence of police officers on school campuses may result in the escalation of minor infractions of school rules into criminal offences, and contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline. This research highlights the need for further study on the role of officers in schools in England, and to what extent their presence benefits, or otherwise, the schools and the pupils. The talk would be relevant to anyone working in or researching the secondary school phase, and/or interested in surveillance in contemporary society.

Dr Amanda Henshall  has been a Research Fellow in Education at the University of Greenwich since 2016. From 2013-15 she was a Senior Lecturer in Education at Greenwich, and has also taught at the University of Cumbria (London Campus). Previously, Dr Henshall worked as a researcher at the well regarded children’s charity the National Children’s Bureau, and at the University of London’s Institute of Education. Before taking her Masters and PhD at the University of Lancaster, she was a secondary school teacher of English and worked in a variety of settings, including with children who were out of school. 

Amanda Henshall (2017): On the school beat: police officers based in English schools, British Journal of Sociology of Education, DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2017.1375401

The International Centre for Public Pedagogy (ICPuP) was founded in 2013, it is based in the Cass School of Education and Communities, and is cross-disciplinary with other members from Psychology and Performing Arts. Public pedagogy is a relatively new area of educational scholarship that considers the application and development of educational theory and approaches beyond formal schooling. Public pedagogy therefore includes analysis, investigation and action research in contexts such as cultural education, public spaces, non-formal learning, technology and education, popular culture and political struggle. The centre hosts seminars once a month during term time. Staff from all schools and students are welcome.

Dr Charlotte Chadderton

Reader in Education

Fellow of the National Institute of Careers Education and Counselling (NICEC)

Cass School of Education and Communities

University of East London

Water Lane

Stratford

London E15 4LZ

0208 223 4771

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Glenn Rikowski

I wrote a short article on this topic in 2007, Playground Risks and Handcuffed Kids: We Need Safer Schools? This article can be viewed at Academia: http://www.academia.edu/11074776/Playground_Risks_and_Handcuffed_Kids_We_Need_Safer_Schools

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Posted here by Glenn Rikowski

Glenn Rikowski @ Academia: http://independent.academia.edu/GlennRikowski 

Glenn Rikowski @ ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Glenn_Rikowski

Ruth Rikowski @ Academia: http://lsbu.academia.edu/RuthRikowski