Mendocino can only be described as a bubble, safe from the ugliness of the world, guarded by the deep blue ocean and a constant blanket of fog. Our safety is beyond stable compared to almost any other town or city in California, but of course it is still the duty of schools, parents, and community members to maintain that safety to the best of their ability. That duty is what makes the presence of officers on school campuses not necessarily alarming nor worrisome. Instead, it raises questions, such as why they’re here and if we want or need them, that deserve to be investigated and answered.

Nationwide, the presence of officers on school campuses is not an abnormal phenomenon, with about 24% of public schools and 42% of private schools having full time officers on campus. This is largely in big cities, like Los Angeles and San Francisco, which are more likely to have scenarios where officers might be needed, such as incidents of gang violence or sexual and physical assault. The high rate of school shootings in recent years also plays a part in those percentages, with worried parents and administrators demanding some form of precaution against possible threats. However, Mendocino isn’t one of these big cities. We do not have the same risks or needs as these other schools, meaning officers on a campus should be applied differently. The question is: do we need that application at all, and if so, what should that look like?

Mendocino is a much smaller school and town with much smaller chance of incidents involving violence or danger to public safety. This bubble of safety around Mendocino means that the only time we would realistically need an officer is in the case of a situation out of our control, such as natural disasters, accidents, or a school shooting. This makes the relationship with the officers in the community an important and necessary one, but their relevance in our hallways and in our environments is questionable.

Applied to our school community of students, staff, and administrators, this question was met with mixed feelings and opinions. Of the students interviewed, all said they had definitely noticed more of a presence of officers on campus but had different attitudes toward it. Opinions were torn, with some students not caring at all, others thinking it was beneficial, and some thinking it was downright harmful.

A few students were supportive of the officer’s presence, saying that perhaps it would be a good step in the direction of keeping students in line and focused. “Fear of authority might be beneficial,” said one student. But is that the way we as a community want to go about helping kids? Others said they didn’t really pay attention to the officer’s presence or care all that much about it. They said, “they’re just doing their job” and “if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about,” and that may be true, but what purpose does that serve? Perhaps their presence acts as a deterrent. Many, however, addressed the fact that the sight of officers can give people a natural and unhelpable reaction of worry or fear. One student said, seeing the officers around campus gave them a “panicked and nervous feeling.” Even if that doesn’t apply to everyone, do we want to create an environment where kids, even it is only some, are panicked and afraid where they are supposed to be learning?  

One of the deputies, Officer Greg Stefani, sat down for an interview and spoke on this subject. He said the goal of their presence was to “familiarize themselves,” to integrate themselves into the community and be seen as someone people could turn to when necessary. If done right, this could create an environment in which the community is able to feel comfortable turning to officers in situations where they may be needed.   

However, many know the feeling you get when around an officer, that unhelpable tinge of fear and double checking yourself, and that feeling is almost impossible to avoid. Officers parked at the stop sign or saying hello to students may not change that. The one thing that 100% of people interviewed agreed on, besides the deputy himself, was that there are better ways to go about integrating themselves if that’s what they really want to do. They can make themselves be seen as less of a uniform and more of a person and community member by taking off their uniform and belt, and coming and introducing themselves. Most students agreed an informative meet and greet assembly would be much more beneficial in order for the officers to familiarize themselves, rather than the current display of power.

It does seem as though they aren’t out to get us, but is what they’re doing really helping? Does their presence stop kids from smoking weed or slow down on their way to school? Some think so, with one teacher saying “If fear is what is needed to keep kids in line then, that’s what should be used”. However, people are going to do what they want to do and the presence of authority isn’t going to stop them. Perhaps drivers will make a full stop at the stop sign or skip smoking weed at lunch if they see an officer on campus that day, but those actions are still going to come out in another way, in another place. Officers and teachers often put out efforts to control seemingly inappropriate behavior of high school students, and while doing so are regularly underestimating the knowledge and motivation of the students.  

That behavior is just going to be pushed somewhere else. It will “pop up in unhealthy ways,” as a teacher said, rather than in that bubble of that control or safety. Officers being here doesn’t help prevent bad behavior, but rather just postpone it, if that. Their presence isn’t preventive, and it isn’t familiarizing, so what are they doing?

Something needs to change. Depending on what they really want to accomplish, their future course of actions needs to reflect their goals. Currently, nothing beyond small and trivial benefits are being accomplished, and it could be argued they are damaging a learning environment. It shouldn’t be blown out of proportion; living in Mendocino we are very lucky, and a scenario like this is not severe. No one is being harassed, arrested, or intimidated by these officers and the point of this article is not to make them look bad, but to bring attention to what they’re doing and question how it is affecting us. To familiarize themselves, to be seen as a person, a community member, or a helping hand, they need to do something differently. Perhaps this can be done by integrating themselves in a way that does not make students feel as though they are being policed or protected, to just be, without a purpose or agenda.