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My school district will be voting on using armed police officers in each school, from elementary to high school.
I am against that, preferring to employ more counselors or others to keep an eye and ear out for kids who are being bullied and resolving those issues with the bully and the bullied. It seems to me that most of the school shooters are children who had been bullied or had bad experiences in school.
I especially do not agree to having armed people in an elementary school!
If your district employs armed officers, how do you feel about it? How do the teachers feel about it?
I do not have children in school any more (I'm retired), but I will have a grandchild in the district.
I'd be interested in both sides of the argument.
The school district I live in is a gold star district, and most people are upper middle class or wealthy.
Thanks for your input. Voting is this Monday night.
My former system had at least one armed School Resource Officer (SRO) in each high school. They were/are sworn officers of the County Police Department (originally when the program was implemented, during the Clinton Administration, they were members of the County Sheriff's Department. There was a political dispute over jurisdiction and the Police Department won). For them it's just another assignment like being posted to traffic control or investigations, although usually less intense.
In addition to the SROs there were at least two, more in the larger high schools, unarmed Security Counselors who are sworn officers employed by the school system who have jurisdiction on school property and off site school functions like the Prom. Many, if not all, are retired police officers from various agencies.
Then there were Security Assistants who are not sworn officers and provide general security. Usually there are at least 5 of them at each high school (it depends on how many non-teacher coaches or frat brothers the Principal needs to hide).
The more troublesome middle schools have Security Counselors and Security Assistants.
The school system has about 178 schools, 22 of those are high schools.
Last edited by North Beach Person; 07-28-2018 at 02:50 PM..
Reason: jurisdiction
I should have added that negotiations are underway for the Police Department to assign officers to all the schools at each level.
Part of that is driven globally by recent events but also more locally by local happenings. Assaults on school staff and trespassing, among other issues, at the elementary and middle schools have been on an upward trajectory for several years and there are signs that some middle schools have been infiltrated by MS 13. Several high schools already have been.
My kid's high school has an SRO who is a full time police officer that has extra training in youth issues and is assigned to the high school as his patrol area. Can't say about the current SRO since the one who was there while my kids were in school has rotated back into regular police duties, but the kids just loved him, more than many of the teachers. The kids put a lot of trust in him and he was probably more aware of their problems and stresses than the actual counselors and was often asked by the kids themselves to the be one of the adults at various club events.
Most of the HS in my area have a full time police office assigned to the school. Their office is at the school and their main job is to handle "problems" when called and work with students on parole/probation or who have other police issues/tickets/etc.. The officers are always outside their office at the beginning & end of the day and are in the cafeteria during lunch, but do not patrol the hallways or anything like that. Yes, they are armed and have handcuffs, a tazer, and whatever tools they normally have attached to their belt. In some HS they wear uniforms and in some they are plain clothed (maybe it depends on their rank).
I think that it may lead people to feel a little more secure but I doubt if one police officer would be much help in a real emergency.
One large benefit, IMHO, is that students are less afraid of the police, and more willing to tell them things, because they get to know Officer Smith or Officer Jones in a more personal way, as part of the school community.
I was told by students had been in trouble with the law that they felt that Officer Smith/Jones/who ever helped them stay out of trouble as they could go and speak to them if they were having issues. So that is a definitely plus.
I do not think that the local elementary or middle schools, in my area, would really benefit from armed guards.
Last edited by germaine2626; 07-28-2018 at 03:21 PM..
Many of the school districts in my area have retired state troopers who armed working as security guards. (State troopers in PA can retire at 75% of their salary after 25 years.) Some of the districts have school resource officers who are local police. One has an armed security guard from a local security firm. Any school district that currently does not have armed security will soon have them.
How did you feel about having armed persons in the schools?
Didn't bother me a bit. But, I grew up around firearms (still hunt as much as I can, some would say more than I should), was in the Navy and hunt mostly with cops (which is another story).
I know a deputy Sheriff who was assigned as a School Resource Officer at a local school. He wore his regular uniform every day, complete with duty belt with pistol, taser, handcuffs, etc. just like he would wear on any other duty. He drove his patrol vehicle to the school every day, as well, complete with the tactical armaments he normally carried in the vehicle.
If an "active shooter" comes on your school campus, I simply do not understand why anybody would not want qualified, armed, security there to meet him.
I certainly would!
I want that "active shooter" DEAD before he has a chance to harm one of my grandkids!
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