We are petitioning Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) to halt plans for more police officers to be placed in Greater Manchester schools and for the removal of existing school-based police officers.  

Plans for more police in schools have been developed without due public consultation. Young people, parents, teachers and community members have raised numerous concerns, and these concerns are not being listened to by GMCA.

Communities are concerned that police in schools will: stigmatise particular schools; reinforce existing class and race inequalities; create a climate of hostility and suspicion; and lead young people to be brought into the criminal justice system. All of these things have long-lasting negative implications for young people ​and their communities.

If GMCA is truly interested in keeping young people safe, instead of investing in police in schools, it should invest in school counsellors, youth workers, teachers, and community infrastructure.

Young people need support, not suspicion.