The Thames Valley District School Board voted down a pilot program that would return community policing to schools with a vote of 7 to 6.
While some of the board saw it as a potential opportunity to create relationships between students and London police, many cited students' safety concerns and reviews of school resource officer programs that showed harm to BIPOC (Black Indigenous and other people of colour) youth.
School officers were removed due to public and student concerns following the murder of George Floyd by Minnesota police in 2020.
Community members in attendance found themselves relieved by the board's decision.
