Brockton Schools Urgently Need More Cops. Should They Fill the Gaps With City’s Police Force?

Brockton Public Schools urgently need more school police officers. That's according to Brockton Police Lt. Paul Bonanca's report to the School Committee.

The district's police force has 10 officers, Bonanca said. At the July 8 School Committee meeting, Bonanca stated that the recommended ratio was one officer for every 1,000 students, although the source of the ratio was not confirmed.

An audit of the district's police officers resulted from students and teachers speaking out about increased levels of violence and chaos at Brockton High School in early 2024.

According to its website, the National Association of School Resource Officers has called the ratio of one officer to 1,000 students out of date, noting that factors specific to individual schools, such as campus size and the number of non-police security staff, should be used instead. The Association also recommends at least one officer per school. 

Bonanca told The Enterprise that 20 possible applicants and three open positions have been budgeted for the upcoming school year. These individuals must pass background checks and undergo a physical examination before they can enter the training academy. The average training time is approximately 10 months, after which individuals are allowed to work in the schools.

As a result, new officers would start in July 2026 at the earliest, although Bonanca noted it's unlikely any would be ready to enroll in the September cycle of the academy.

“Maybe at some point, maybe with the next administration, it's time to talk about, perhaps, absorption with the Brockton police," Bonanca stated during the meeting.

According to Mayor Robert Sullivan, the Brockton Police Department and school police maintain separate unions, which makes integrating the two police forces challenging. 

As The Enterprise notes, Brockton school police are not members of the Brockton Police Department, except Bonanca, who oversees the school police.