Criminal or violent acts rose 19% in one year in the Charlotte-Mecklenberg, NC, schools according to a Charlotte Observer news story in early March. Yet security staffing continues to be dramatically cut by school officials. In a January story by WBTV, the district’s superintendent recommended cutting nearly $1 million from the district’s school law enforcement division, cutting […]
Blog Archives
Anti-School Police Commentary Paints False School Safety Picture
In ““Taking Safety Too Far: The Ill-Defined Role Police Play in Schools,” a February 24th commentary article in Education Week, authors and civil rights advocates Johanna Wald and Lisa Thurau presented what I believe to be a very skewed misrepresentation of school resource officers (SROs), school police, and administrators. I responded with a letter to the editor […]
School Police Departments and SRO Programs: An Analysis
Three veteran school police and security administrators, in independent interviews this past week, each revealed three common threads of critical elements for successful school police and/or School Resource Officer (SRO) programs: Selecting the right officer: The officer must want to work in schools. There must be a “good fit” for the officer and the school. The […]
School Resource Officers (SROs): Training, Selection, and Communication are Keys
Curt Lavarello has over 24 years experience in the field of school-based policing. It doesn’t take him long to identify the top three critical elements of a successful School Resource Officer (SRO) program: Complete agency commitment to the program from the chief/sheriff and throughout all areas of the agency; The selection and training of the right persons to […]
School Police and Security Staffing: School Security Expert, Chuck Hibbert
Yesterday’s post focused on school police departments. Today, we take a look at school police and staffing in smaller and mid-sized school districts. Chuck Hibbert is the president of Hibbert Safe School Consulting in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a consultant to National School Safety and Security Services. He retired after 21 years of service overseeing school police officers and security services in MSD […]
School Police Departments: Training, Support, and the Right Officer
Jack Martin knows the right school police officer with the proper training and support from school administrators can make a difference in protecting our nation’s schools. He also knows potential failure factors are countless. Retired School Police Chief Brings Credentials, Experienced Perspective Jack Martin retired after serving 12 years as Supervisor of Security and Chief of […]
School Resource Officers (SROs) and School Police Departments
Memphis Schools’ superintendent, Dr. Kriner Cash, wants it. Memphis Police Director Larry Godwin is strongly against it. The Memphis Mayor, A C Wharton, is now against it. State legislators are trying to determine whether or not to make it legal. So what is the “it” that has these school and city leaders in Memphis in a […]