School Resource Officer
Role of the School Resource Officer (SRO)
WHY
DO SCHOOLS HAVE A RESOURCE OFFICER?
The concept of having a School Resource Officer (SRO) has been
around since the 1950's. The idea is to place a law enforcement
officer in a school for three reasons.
First, the officer is there to provide a law enforcement presence.
By being visible to prevent problems and to be available to handle
police related functions, such as crime investigation, the officer
provides a safe learning environment. The second part of the SRO's
job is to be a teacher. By working with classroom teachers and other
faculty members the SRO can present information and answer questions
on a variety of topics including the law, drugs, safety, crime
prevention, violence prevention and community awareness of these
issues. The third part of the triangle is counseling. Police
officers can offer advice, mediation and direction to students,
parents and faculty in various matters . As part of this counseling
they can also offer direction to other resources in the community.
School Resource Officers have become a valuable part of the school
staff and an important link between students, the police and the
community. They build a bond between young people and law
enforcement that provides understanding from both sides. Students
who feel safe become better learners and better citizens.
Resource officers are trained by and are members of N.A.S.R.O. (The National Association of School Resource Officers)
