To end youth violence, deal with the traumas preceding it

Like my fellow Coloradans, I sorrow over the recent violence at Denver East High School.

However, how is the Denver School Board’s requirement that police officers come back into the schools as long as they are “appropriately trained in the use of firearms, de-escalation techniques, policing in a school environment, knowledgeable of the school community they intend to serve, and skilled in community policing” any different from what should have already been required before police were phased out in 2020?

We cannot afford to go in circles. 

Youth violence is a serious public health, public safety, and social issue which affects the whole of society. We will never end this violence until we address the role that trauma plays in creating it.

Not every…