Troy City School District Considers Decreasing Police Presence, Parents Disagree

In New York's Troy City School District, parents are pleading with administrators to keep full-time police in schools. This comes after an announcement from Police Chief John Tedesco, who is considering reassigning some back into the community, reports CBS 6 Albany.

The parents are worried that a decrease in police presence will result in a decrease in safety. Maria Homes, mother of a Dole Middle School seventh grader, told WNYT that it is not adequate for the police to be in the neighborhood, but not at the school.

"No, because they might not be near enough. Kids need to come where they feel safe and as long as there's an officer in the building, they can't help but feel safe."

Tedesco maintained that officers would still be present, but only for about 80 to 90 percent of the time, as opposed to their current full-time schedule.

Troy Police Union President Robert Fitzgerald is skeptical. He told WNYT that the officers are able to identify and control problems before they start.

"Right now, the officers prevent an awful lot of problems. You had a powder keg up there years ago. We put the officers up there for a reason, they combated the problem and now we're going to go back to reacting to problems."

Tedesco defends his plan, however, he says he's willing to compromise if it doesn't work.

"Don't listen to the hype, listen to the plan. Give me a chance to evaluate the plan. If we're wrong, we'll put the officers back in the school."

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