MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Shelby County Schools (MSCS) is making its case to County Commissioners on why the district needs a police force, specifically for the district.
Ahead of the Shelby County Commissioner Committee meeting Wednesday, Feb. 21, MSCS said in a document the creation of the "MSCS Peace Force" would potentially help break up the school to prison pipeline.
Under the proposal being presented by the district, officers in the police force would be specifically trained for dealing with school related emergencies and student-related issues. The district also argues the creation of the force would free up Memphis Police officers and Shelby County Sheriff's deputies currently assigned to schools, allowing them to instead be reassigned to help tackle crime in the county.
The officers would be available to MSCS schools 24/7 and give the district complete control over the placement of the officers, which are not the case under their current arrangement.
MSCS was planning to discuss the proposal during Wednesday's meeting, but the discussion was postponed to a later date.
According to the document from MSCS, 11 states already have the ability to create their own police force:
- Florida (notable school district includes Miami-Dade)
- California (notable school district includes Los Angeles)
- Georgia (notable school district includes Atlanta)
- Indiana (notable school district include Indianapolis)
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Michigan (notable school district includes Detroit)
- Maryland (notable school district includes Baltimore)
- North Carolina (notable school district includes Charlotte-Mecklenburg)
- Oklahoma (notable school district includes Tulsa)
- Texas (notable school district includes Dallas) — Texas has the largest number of school districts with a police force (between 350 and 390). However, more than half of the school districts are small.