A reform group wants young students to be taught their Miranda rights in case of contact with police. That's a bad idea without the context of what might occur in such situations.
Some recent bizarre incidents involving police repeatedly running to the Collingswood schools for seemingly trivial matters certainly justifies push-back from parents and the community at large.
But the advice from Decarcerate the Garden State, a prison reform group, could have some scary, unintended consequences.
The group wants little kids to be taught their "Miranda" rights so they can choose to be silent when confronted by a police officer. Decarcerate the Garden State even wants this to be a mandate in public schools statewide.
To understand the reason for the reformers' interest, here's what happened in Collinsgwood recently: Apparently, because the Camden County Prosecutor's Office believed the school administration failed to call the local police after a potential crime, the prosecutor directed that the cops be notified of all school incidents that might involve criminality.
Police were soon responding to the schools up to five times a day, so something was clearly wrong. Perhaps the prosecutor issued a ridiculously broad policy to punish the district. Perhaps school administrators interpreted the directive too broadly in an effort to comply. It's also possible they deliberately sent for the patrol cars so often to expose the directive as unworkable.
It all came to a head when it was disclosed that police had "raided" a third-grade class party, questioning a student because he'd allegedly made a comment that could be construed as racist about "brownies" served that day. The online world went nuts.
Since this incident came to light, the three entities involved -- the county prosecutor, the Collingswood school district and its police department -- are reportedly re-evaluating their relationship. The whole tiff could have been avoided if they'd done this sooner.
Still, this doesn't justify a curriculum mandate that contradicts some previous good advice about police stops.
The American Civil Liberties Union -- no slouch when it comes to individual rights -- tells people to cooperate if stopped by police. Remain calm. Don't resist even if you are innocent. Keep your hands in sight. Know that you don't have to incriminate yourself, the ACLU says, but it doesn't recommend clamming up when asked for basic information. Especially after this past week's events in Minnesota and Louisiana, the ACLU's advice goes double if you are black or brown.
The problem with teaching 9-year-olds about their the right to remain silent is how asserting that right without good cause can get you beaten, shot or killed 6 or 7 years later when you get stopped by a cop on the street for the first time.
Conversely, there's a big problem if cops are conducting interviews with third-graders without the opportunity for a parent, guardian or legal representative to be present. If that happened in Collingswood, police need to answer for it.
Admittedly, 9-year-olds are not in the "Law & Order" viewer demographic that knows the Miranda v. Arizona warning statement by heart. Still, it's best to teach it in school through a balanced course that also outlines the dynamics of police/community relations, and the possibly deadly choice to steadfastly assert your legal rights when discretion makes an alternate response more prudent.
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