Violence in Ontario schools up 77% since removal of police officers
The Ford government has overseen a wave of classroom violence since taking office in 2018.
The Ford government has overseen a wave of classroom violence since taking office in 2018. Since then, violence has spiked 77 per cent, with the government proposing new legislation to restore police presence on school grounds.
Figures obtained by Global News through freedom of information requests show a 77 per cent increase since 2018-19, when 2,499 incidents were reported.
In 2023-24, that number reached 4,424, the highest ever recorded.
The Peel District School Board reported the most cases last year with 431, followed by the Toronto District School Board at 410.
In 2017, Ontario’s largest school board, the Toronto District School Board, voted 18 to 3 in favour of ending police presence in schools.
Other school boards followed suit, notably including the Ottawa District School Board in the nation’s capital, which voted in 2021 to cut ties with the Ottawa police, citing concerns raised by “racialized” and “LGBTQ” students.
The Ministry of Education acknowledged the rise in incidents, pointing to what it called record funding for school safety, including more psychologists, social workers and educational assistants.
According to a Ministry of Education spokesperson’s reply to Global News, the Ministry linked the trend to Ontario school boards’ (OCDSB, TDSB, and others) decisions to remove police resource officers.
“This is why our government has introduced measures that will require school boards to work with police services to develop School Resource Officer and youth engagement programs,” the spokesperson said.
Cultural genocide?