Police Misconceptions

Society advocates distrust towards undercover officers and their techniques, projecting their own misconceptions onto countless others; however, many people defy society 's angry mistrust and support the police, trusting that they know what they’re doing. Society and the media promote that parents should be angry at the prospect of an adult going undercover in school. While some parents buy into this outlook, many more are insistent that parents should support undercover agents. Only with the help of both police and parents can we effectively rid our schools of these negative influences (Fitzgerald, “NewsTimes”). After Bowsher High School had a drug sting, the only calls the principal received from parents were overwhelmingly in support of these

By using undercover officers, schools all around the world receive various beneficial results. The main results obtained from these drug stings are the multiple arrests and subsequent lower juvenile drug abuse rates. In Palm Beach Schools in Florida, over twenty-seven high school students were arrested along with five adults when undercover policemen were allowed access to the school (Chan, “Under The Radar”).These results are mirrored in every school that used undercover officers, including Columbia High School, Temecula High School, Exeter High School and many more. However, these results are most impressive in New York. For the first time, New York schools have begun welcoming police with open arms and minds. Due to officers arresting illegal drug users, over one thousand arrests have been made in one month ("Civil Liberties Union 's stand on undercover police in schools to control drug use blasted by congressional candidate, Serphin Maltese."). When they are undercover, undercover officers can help catch more than just illegal drug users. They have been known to catch bullies, porn dealers, and gang members. Indianapolis has had help from undercover police to identify gang members in schools and steer them away. They turn them away from gangs, stopping the gang activity before it evolves into a bigger problem (Cahn, “Under The Radar”). Even if juveniles are misguided, the police still care about them and try their hardest to help them succeed. Even if police say they care, some still argue that police waste money getting only small amounts of drugs off the street which is inefficient at stopping drug use, and end up ruining teenagers’ lives (Newman,. "How an Attractive, Undercover Cop Posed as a Student”). However, police aren’t wasting money because even the smallest amount of narcotics can start addictions, subsequently ruining and taking away lives. In addition, these operations are effective at stopping drug abuse at school. Steve Contos, principal at Waite