Power of Criminal Justice System in Schools

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that." ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

"If someone puts their hands on you make sure they never put their hands on anybody else again." ~ Malcolm X

Power is not exactly seized with brute force, but with unseen criminal bondage intended to ensnare some and the illusion of freedom. In Canada, these chains are established by poverty, institutional apathy, and strategic deployment of the police to repress racialized groups.

To neutralizing a populace is to restrict their access to the very mechanisms that would provide them power. Low-income schools, comprised largely of Indigenous, Black, and Brown children, are usually under-resourced.

Education, marketed as a pathway to upward mobility, loses its value when these institutions provide reduced staffing. Lacking an education, these young adults are vulnerable, unable to find their way into power, but rather forced to labour on society's fringes.

Deprivation is not enough. Intimidation and surveillance are the methods through which this hierarchy is upheld. The state penetrates more deeply into these communities through over-policing.

The carding process, indiscriminate street checks, ensnares young Indigenous and predominantly Black men in its net, branding them as criminalized subjects even before they are allowed to reach adulthood.

Some schools are no refuge but an extension of the criminal justice system. The presence of symbols of the criminal justice system in schools where racialization prevails ensures that discipline would be an exercise in retribution instead of restorative justice programs, healing circles, and talking circles with the students involved, with their parents, with community cultural members, and with at least one of their mentor teachers that they trust, in the school—the place that they are learning and building friendships. The healing process for students that the incident took place should be in the school; a place that builds a sense of belonging.

One misstep from one of your students, one misjudgment, and the Final Chance Programs kick in: one transgression can result in an instant arrest, a criminal record, and a forced hearing before a judge. The message is unmistakable, conform or be destroyed or erased.

Inside the legal system, the walls close in. The economic burden of criminal justice is intentionally.

Many racialized Canadians cannot afford legal representation and are often pressured into plea bargains or alternative "last chance" programs. These programs claim to be for non-violent offenses committed by students aged 12 to 17 but, in reality, often target those involved in violent incidents.

For example, if a child gets into trouble, parents may be given a difficult choice: accept a five-day suspension that includes expulsion from school and false criminal charges, or enroll their child in a "last chance" program. In this program, the child receives police counseling for several months, given community service, and is repeatedly warned that any future offense, even something as minor as stealing a chocolate bar, will result in their name being flagged in police databases under the "last chance" program. If arrested again, they will face criminal charges, appear before a judge, and potentially be sentenced to community service or youth detention.

A rebellious child from an affluent family would never be targeted for a "last chance" criminal justice program in a well-funded affluent community school. In fact, such schools rarely incorporate symbols of the criminal justice system at all. Affluent parents would challenge the presence of these programs, questioning their necessity and impact on their children.

The province does not need a conviction to win; it merely needs conformity. With the criminal record now fixed, entry into employment, schooling, and housing becomes a bureaucratic nightmare, all but impossible to access. You are done. Some people are very happy about your downfall due to your race, culture, and sexual orientation.

This system does not rely on open oppression, but it thrives on subtlety, on rules established to appear neutral but enforced with deliberate bias. The question is not if oppression occurs, but if those caught in its grip will recognize it before it is too late.