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School police report: first day incidents, Yondr rollout and officer staffing discussed
Summary
Brockton School Police and district leaders reported the first day of school generally went smoothly but noted a fight at Brockton High, ongoing online threat tracking, Yondr cell-phone pouch rollout, and plans to add school police officers to reach a budgeted total of 13.
Brockton School Police briefed the school committee on Sept. 3 about safety operations for the start of the 2025–26 school year, reporting largely smooth openings, one significant fight at Brockton High and ongoing work on online threat investigations. Lieutenant (unnamed) said visibility — officers and cruisers at school entrances — was key to a safe opening. He reported officers filed charges related to a fight at Brockton High and that six individuals received emergency suspensions; one was described as a repeat offender. The lieutenant also summarized summer investigations and recoveries: a July break‑in at Davis School led to a suspect’s arrest after warrants were obtained, and stolen power tools from a district work truck were later recovered and a suspect taken into custody. On student cell‑phone management, the district has expanded Yondr pouches to a second school this year and distributed "Yondr pouches" (branded as a cell‑phone‑free pilot). The lieutenant said he saw the Yondr process at the high school as smoother than last year and described the policy rationale — reduced cyberbullying, prevention of planned assaults and limiting outside communications that could produce unauthorized campus entries. Committee members asked for data on the program’s effectiveness. The lieutenant said the district would attempt to provide discipline and suspension data, including disaggregated figures, and noted a multi-year decline in removals and suspensions from a previous 2,981 to 1,557 last year. He also said the department plans a refresher for school‑police on active‑shooter response in light of nationwide events. On staffing, the school police are budgeted for three new positions; after recent hires and conditional offers the lieutenant said the department expects to reach 13 officers total once hires and academy graduations are complete. The superintendent said a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for school police is under legal review and will be forwarded to the committee when complete.
