IL DEMOCRAT PLAN: Replace school resource cops with social workers

A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from an Illinois State Representative serving on a school safety committee seeking ways to keep our school children safer.  He said there were eight Republicans and an equal number of Democrats and a few others serving. 

I provided him some information (thank you Lt. Col. Dave Grossman…  the 5 'D's) and an explanation.  I also reached out to a couple of my fellow instructors who have likely had additional training on this stuff.

Time goes by and then, earlier this week, I see the crazy Democrat plan in the Illinois House.  Is this what these halfwits took away from the discussions on safety?

Illinois plan: Replace armed school officers with therapists

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Some Illinois lawmakers want to give extra money to schools that replace armed security officers with unarmed social workers and behavior therapists, an approach to safety that's far different than a national push to add police or arm teachers following a mass shooting at a Florida high school.

 

Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch, a Hillside Democrat, said he proposed the plan after hearing from advocates who argue that investing in mental health resources is the best way of treating the epidemic of violence.

 

His plan, which is backed by 16 other Democrats in the House, would allow schools to apply to an optional grant if they promise to reallocate funding for school-based law enforcement to mental health services, including social workers or other practices "designed to promote school safety and healthy environments."

 

Let's face it:  Liberals in Illinois just do not trust the police.  Couple that with gross incompetence about school security and you get dimwitted people who think that

a) a cheap tin sign announcing "severe penalties" for those bringing a gun onto school property is a deterrent to people willing to commit mass murder, and

b) more school resource officers will only create a pathway for more "minority" students to get arrested. 

The AP story continues:

…Michelle Mbekeani-Wiley, from the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law, said this approach is wrongheaded and that police are unequipped to recognize or respond to mental health issues. She adds that many minority students within the Chicago Public School system are arrested by school resource officers for non-serious offenses, which could jeopardize their chances of applying to jobs and colleges in the future.

"This increased presence of law enforcement in schools does not necessarily enhance school safety," said Mbekeani-Wiley. "Instead it dramatically increases the likelihood that students will be unnecessarily swept into the criminal justice system often for mere adolescent or disruptive behavior."

 

Well, Ms. Mbekeani-Wiley, maybe kids should have already learned how to comport themselves to basic standards of decency and they won't find themselves arrested!