You may have heard the term SRO but are unfamiliar with what it stands for. You may also have seen a police car parked outside your student's school, the officer walking through the school, or attending school events.
These highly trained police officers are in place to keep your students and school staff members safe and secure. Their title is School Resource Officer (SRO). They help direct traffic during drop-off and pick-up times at each campus. They walk the halls, interact with students, and keep everyone safe.
SROs are certified law enforcement officers law who attended a law enforcement academy. Officers must also complete a 40-hour SRO I certification class, countless hours of training, and State and National Conferences to become SROs.
With school beginning very soon, the Harrison Police Department wanted to introduce families to the SRO officer protecting their school. The feature will begin on the City’s website and social media on Friday, Aug. 2, and run daily until Friday, Aug. 9.
Each officer interviewed loved interacting with students. In the preschool building, hearing those young voices say, “Good morning, Officer Stroud,” with such respect and pride thrilled the soul.
It was interesting to see how the different age groups responded to their officer. It was always with respect and appreciation, showing that many hours of friendship had been cultivated between the officer and student.
Each officer has a heart of protection over “their” students and campus. Many shared advice for parents. In the past, some parents used an officer as “a threat of the boogie man who is going to get you for being bad.”
Officers frown on that form of parenting. The SROs want to be someone a student can come to about any problems in their life. They work hard to earn the student’s respect and trust. They hope adults in the student’s life will back up those thoughts so students can feel safe around police officers.
Get to know your SRO and introduce your child to the officer.
For more information, Lt. Michael Toland is the SRO Division Commander for the Harrison Police Department. He can be reached at mtoland@harrisonar.gov or (870) 204-6065.
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