Law & Order BPS: Police Presence in High Schools During the Desegregation of Boston Public Schools, 1976
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Introduction
The Law & Order BPS project examines student behavior and discipline at three public high schools in predominantly white neighborhoods during the desegregation of Boston Public Schools. These three high schools, L Street Annex, Hyde Park High School, and Charlestown High School, were considered high risk for student violence and were surveilled by local and state police as well as court-appointed monitors. This project uses data from the monitors’ reports from 1976 to create visualizations which examine the relationship between this increased surveillance and student behavior and consider how surveillance may have exacerbated the social and political tensions surrounding desegregation. The issue of police in schools is still highly debated in 2021 and this case study provides historical context on this subject.