ManitobaA few days after a registered sex offender was charged with assaulting a Winnipeg elementary school student, the city’s former chief of police is adding his voice to those singing the praises of officers being stationed in schools.Louis Riel, Winnipeg school divisions haven’t had SROs since 2021Nathan Liewicki · CBC News · Posted: Dec 03, 2025 6:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 6 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 6 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Former Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis believes it’s critical for more schools in the province to have officers present, especially in the wake of last week’s alleged assault of a child by a stranger at Darwin School. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)A few days after a registered sex offender was charged with assaulting a Winnipeg elementary school student, the city’s former chief of police is adding his voice to those singing the praises of officers being stationed in schools.Devon Clunis, whose resume includes a five-year stint as a school resource officer, spoke to CBC after a child was allegedly grabbed in a St. Vital elementary school bathroom by a stranger last Thursday.Scott William George, 28, a registered sex offender has since been charged with assault, forcible confinement and two counts of failing to comply with a prohibition involving children after the incident at Darwin School.The K-8 school is part of the Louis Riel School Division, which discontinued its school resource officer program in 2021. That fact did not appear to be lost on Premier Wab Kinew, who noted the suspect was ultimately apprehended after leaving the school and being followed to the nearby St. Vital Centre shopping mall.“Ultimately it was a police officer and security who stopped this bad guy,” Kinew said Monday. “So school resource officers have a role.” Improved sex offender notifications, school security needed after child grabbed, says parentPremier urges review of public notification system for high-risk sex offenders after Winnipeg student grabbedGeorge also made an unauthorized visit to Dakota Collegiate — another school in the Louis Riel division — in March before he was removed by police.Clunis doesn’t know if having an SRO at Darwin School would have prevented the incident from taking place. But he’s spoken with numerous teachers and police officers across the country who share a common message: bring back SROs to schools.“I think it’s really important that we move forward in terms of getting police officers back into the schools, not to do law enforcement, but to build relationships with young people,” he said Tuesday.Police in schools program made students feel ‘targeted and unsafe,’ report from Winnipeg school division saysReport echoes calls for removal of police from Winnipeg schools, citing fear and discriminationAfter his time as Winnipeg’s top cop ended in 2016, Clunis was appointed the first inspector general of police for Ontario in 2020 and served in that position for 14 months.However, he maintains that the most enjoyable time in his policing career came as an SRO.“I realized what we’re doing was really building into the future of not only these young people, but I say society as a whole,” Clunis said.A police officer walks a hallway in a Winnipeg school in an undated file photo. (CBC)He believes SROs can play a role that teachers and parents cannot, but that role needs to be a layered approach with SROs just part of the approach to providing the best safety network possible for children in the province.“We really have taken a very critical piece out of that social safety network for young people by saying we’re taking SROs out of schools,” Clunis said.As recently as 2020, Winnipeg police officers were employed at all six public school divisions in the city. However, the Winnipeg School Division cut SROs in spring 2021 due to financial reasons, and Louis Riel School Division ended its SRO program later that fall.Community group calls for police officers to be removed from Winnipeg schoolsAnother school division ends program with Winnipeg police in schoolsThe decision was made following a report commissioned by the division, which found that the presence of police in schools led to increased risks and feelings of fear and discrimination, particularly among Black and Indigenous students.Clunis says there’s no need for children to be afraid of the police.“I’m not saying that I don’t understand the fear. I’m saying I want to help that young person overcome that fear and have a much better life,” he said.Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, right, and Education Minister Tracy Schmidt spoke about the value of school resource officers at a news conference Monday. (Tyson Koschik/CBC)Kinew and Education Minister Tracy Schmidt jointly announced Monday that every school in Manitoba must undertake a safety review and send the assessment to the province’s education department.They didn’t suggest there would be an influx of SROs entering schools, but spoke to the importance of those officers.”I know there’s different opinions out there in the community … but I agree with the premier, that I think school resource officers have a role to play in Manitoba,” Schmidt said.”We saw the fantastic role that school resource officers can play, we saw that play out just in June in Brandon.”A school resource officer intervened in a sword attack at Neelin High School and likely saved a student’s life, if not many students’ lives, Schmidt said. More victims, bloodshed were intended in sword attack at Brandon high school: police15-year-old boy suffers ‘significant and serious’ injuries in sword attack at Brandon high school: policeIn the wake of last week’s incident, the parents of other children enrolled at Darwin School sent a letter to LRSD superintendent Christian Michalik and a board member, and shared a copy with CBC News.One of the parents’ demands was that the division deliver a detailed explanation of its position on the SRO program, along with a firm commitment and timeline for joining it.In an emailed response to the parents, Michalik said the division has historically taken a “thoughtful approach” to “balancing safety with our commitment to inclusive environments.”Christian Michalik, superintendent of the Louis Riel School Division, told parents at Darwin School the division is reviewing potential partnerships with police. (Radio-Canada)He adds that the division is reviewing all options, including potential partnerships with police.On Tuesday afternoon, CBC also contacted the division to ask if it’s reconsidering its position on SROs, but didn’t receive a response.Clunis is optimistic more schools will slowly start to see an uptick of officers in the near future.“I think we have a real opportunity here to do something that’s actually going to be transformational in terms of the SRO program. It doesn’t need to look exactly the way it’s always looked,” he said.“We can actually create something that better serves every facet of society that we’re looking at.”ABOUT THE AUTHORNathan Liewicki is an online reporter at CBC Manitoba. He was previously nominated for a national RTDNA Award in digital sports reporting. He worked at several newspapers in sports, including the Brandon Sun, the Regina Leader-Post and the Edmonton Journal.With files from Sierra Sanders and Darren Bernhardt
Days after attack on student, former Winnipeg police chief calls for more officers in schools
