Key Points:
- Nearly 400 safer schools officers to be removed from London secondary schools due to £260m Met Police budget shortfall
- Role to be absorbed into neighbourhood policing, raising concern from headteachers and parents
- Fears of increased violence, knife crime, and gang recruitment among vulnerable students
- Education leaders call the move “catastrophic” and warn of strain on already stretched teachers
- Parents voice fears over children’s safety and lack of visible deterrent around schools
- Police say new ward-based officers will still work closely with schools and youth organisations
Parents and educators warn of ‘catastrophic’ impact as police pulled from London schools. Hundreds of safer schools officers will be removed from London’s secondary schools, prompting outcry from teachers, parents, and community leaders who fear the move will place vulnerable children at risk and increase pressure on overstretched teachers.
Why are safer schools officers being removed?
The decision to withdraw 371 safer schools officers from secondary schools across London is a response to a significant £260 million budget shortfall faced by the Metropolitan Police. As a result, the officers are set to be redeployed to neighbourhood policing teams.
HuffPost UK reports that educational leaders have urged the Met to reconsider the plan. Sam Jones, chair of The Waltham Forest Secondary Heads group, wrote a letter to the force expressing “grave concern” over what he called “a significant step backward”.
Jones warned the move could leave “vulnerable students prey to exploitation and, in turn, perpetrators of crime.” Speaking to Sky News, he added: “We think that it will increase violence, potentially increase bullying and weapons-related incidents.”
What do parents think about the plan?
Parents across London have voiced alarm. Carolyn Owlett, a parent in Hackney with a 13-year-old at a local school, called it a “terrible decision”.
“We have a safer schools officer and I think he’s been extremely busy dealing with issues inside the school, and outside, after school kicks out,” she said. “Knife crime is rife in our area.”
She highlighted the ease with which children can obtain weapons, saying: “All the children have access to knives because they order them from internet sites. Because they go through a letter box, they do not need to be signed for.”
Elizabeth Hines, a psychologist and mother of a 13-year-old in south London, said she had “mixed feelings” about the plan but worried about what would fill the gap. “Taking nearly 400 officers out of schools feels like a big shift,” she said. “Schools can be like pressure cookers. So it’s good to have someone trained to handle those situations calmly and professionally.”
Valentina Rebeschini, whose child attends a Richmond-based school, said the loss of a visible police presence would concern many parents. “Teens are vulnerable in so many ways, and schools should feel like secure spaces.”
Andy Coley, author and parent in Greenwich, told HuffPost UK: “Police should have a pastoral presence in schools.” He added he hadn’t even been aware of the safer schools officer role but now saw its value.
How will this affect students and teachers?
Parents and teachers fear the decision will leave students exposed to gang influence and violence, particularly in economically strained families where children are left unsupervised for longer hours.
Owlett stressed that the move would “place more pressure on teachers who are already overworked” and said the mental health impact on staff could be “huge”. “Whilst I don’t think the school police officer stops all crime, I think the removal altogether would be catastrophic.”
Researcher Emma Soye from Queen’s University Belfast has previously noted that gangs can exploit the absence of adults in children’s lives, with some recruiting children as young as 12.
What are the police saying in defence of the move?
Glen Pavelin, Metropolitan Police commander for neighbourhood policing, said the force’s priority remains the safety of children.
“Children should be able to travel to and from school and study without the fear of violence,” he told HuffPost UK. “This is where we know young people are most at risk of violence and gangs.”
Pavelin said that while officers will no longer be permanently based inside schools, they will remain active in the community and “retain strong relationships with schools” to respond quickly to reports of knife crime.
Officers, he said, will also work with local organisations and youth centres to “safeguard young people, prevent victimisation and reduce crime and anti-social behaviour (ASB) beyond schools.”
What happens next?
The safer school officer role will be replaced with dedicated ward officers who will focus on youth but operate as part of wider neighbourhood teams. It remains to be seen whether this shift in approach will retain the protective influence that many schools and parents say they rely on.
As the Metropolitan Police restructures to manage financial constraints, the voices of concerned parents and educators grow louder — all asking the same thing: will removing these officers make children safer, or put them further at risk?
