Know your source:
The letter to the editor published Oct. 24 (“Police proposal a step in the wrong direction,” Oct. 24, TribLIVE) caught my attention.
Review of the 2023 Brookings Institute study mentioned in the letter, contrary to what Mr. Relyea opined, “the presence of an armed officer increases gun-related offenses in schools,” the study actually stated “introducing a new SRO to a school increases the reported number of gun-related offenses by 0.3 incidents per 500 students (a 195% increase from average).” Understand that “gun-related offenses” doesn’t mean a shooting. The report states “Gun-related incidents are rare in schools and include … threats with a gun …” So, the mere threat of a gun, seen or unseen qualifies as “Gun-related incident.”
SRO’s provide another avenue for student reporting. As the report states, “SROs tend to increase reported crime in schools.” Reporting is a bad thing?
The JAMA study (also mentioned in the Oct. 24 letter), based upon data gleaned from six different authors, also states “controlling for aforementioned factors…” Controlling the selected data?
Who’s controlling the narrative?
David S Teems
Harrison City
