Tag Archive for: SROs

In Honor of Peace Officers

In 1962, President Kennedy declared May 15 as National Peace Officers Memorial Day.  This special day of recognizing the sacrifice of our national fallen officers has grown into what is currently known as, “Police Week.”  Celebrated in our nation’s capital, Police Week draws between 25,000 and 40,000 attendees made up of police officers, law enforcement agents, families of who’ve lost their loved ones, survivors, and supporters.

Of the many powerful events organized for the week is the Candlelight Vigil, honoring police officers that have given their lives in the service of our communities.

Mo Canady, Safe and Sound Advisor and Executive Director of the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO), captured these moments to share at this year’s Candlelight Vigil.

While the Police Week program continues all week in Washington, DC., we ask our Safe and Sound community to remember and recognize the dedication of police officers at home and in our school communities.

To provide some inspiration, we asked a few of our law enforcement friends to share some of the most meaningful gestures they’ve experienced.  Here are some of the surprisingly simple answers we received:

  • A randomly spoken, “Thank you” from a passerby
  • A kind note tucked under the windshield wiper
  • Hand-picked bouquets left at the police station from anonymous community members
  • Blue ribbons tied around the trees of a community for Police Week
  • Rubber memorial bracelets distributed throughout the community
  • The artwork of children delivered by a local school (volunteers created a “gallery” at the station for officers to enjoy all year long)
  • Lunch donated by a local deli
  • A social-media challenge campaign to “Thank an Officer” in the community
  • Dinner made and delivered for a fallen police officer’s family

When it comes to the safety of our schools and communities, police are often our most valuable and dedicated partners, and a little recognition goes a long way.  Thank a police officer today!

/by

Arming School Staff Members or School Resource Officers – Let’s Look at the Facts, Part 2

By Kevin Quinn

Earlier this week, in Part 1 of this blog discussion, I described two primary considerations schools need to address when thinking about arming school staff members. In today’s post, I will pose some additional thoughts and questions related to the discussion.

Carry or Secure

Staff members permitted to carry or access a weapon discover a lot of new responsibilities and considerations. Carrying a concealed weapon everyday isn’t as easy as un-tucking your shirt; and maintaining both security of and access to the firearm is not always simple.

  • Will permitted staff members carry a firearm at all times or will they secure the weapon (until needed) during the day?
  • What is the best means to secure the weapon and still enable access in an emergency?
  • Do local laws allow for carrying a weapon? Are individuals permitted to “open carry” or must the weapon be concealed?

Force Considerations

Police officers have other options for force in situations where use of a firearm would be unsafe or inappropriate. Impact weapons, chemical weapons, electronic control devices, and control and restraint techniques are several examples. In a crowded school hallway, the use of a firearm may not be a realistic or safe option.

Other Concerns

In addition to these major questions, there are multiple administrative concerns to address:

  • Is the school district prepared to absorb the increased cost of insurance?
  • What types of weapons and ammunition will be authorized?
  • How often will training and certification be provided for civilian staff members?
  • Who will pay for the costs associated with purchasing firearms, ammunition and training staff?

Another Option: SROs

Although placing School Resource Officers (SRO) in schools can be a financial and logistical challenge for many districts, I believe the best option for enhancing school safety is the presence of a properly trained SRO.

An SRO is a sworn officer, fully certified, properly equipped, and trained to deal with safety crises that may arise on school campuses. These officers also have direct radio contact with other responding officers during critical incidents. Further, SROs are available to guide and instruct students and staff in a variety of important areas of safety (e.g. driver safety, basic first aid, bike safety, drugs, etc.), as well as establish positive and supportive relationships with students.

Instead of trying to stop a “bad guy with a gun” with a “good guy with a gun,” I suggest we focus on providing schools with a sworn police officer, trained as a School Resource Officer.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Kevin Quinn is a 20-year veteran police officer and SRO in Arizona and the former President of the National Association of School Resource Officers. He is the current President of the Arizona School Resource Officers Association as well as an advisor to several school safety organizations. He can be reached on Twitter @klah316 or email kquinn@asroa.org.

/by

Arming School Staff Members or School Resource Officers – Let’s Look at the Facts, Part 1

By Kevin Quinn

There has been much talk about school safety and active shooters. One solution discussed at great lengths is arming school staff to deter and respond to an active shooter. Some people say the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I wish it were that easy, but there are several considerations to take when the topic of arming school staff members arises. For today’s blog, I will discuss two primary issues, identification and training. In Part 2 of this blog post, I will cover the remaining issues.

Identification

schoolsecurity-6c52aaecAs a police officer, I wear a uniform that identifies me to other officers and the public. Even if responders can’t see my face, they know I am not the suspect and can react accordingly when locating the threat. Unfortunately, teachers do not dress any differently than regular civilians and do not stand out in a crowd at a school – especially high schools and colleges where the students are older than elementary school students.

Furthermore, when officers arrive at the scene of an active shooter, our first goal is to end the violence. As we attempt to locate the suspect, we look for someone with a weapon. Imagine we come across Mr. Jones, the math teacher, in the hallway with his gun drawn. Chances are, Mr. Jones will be detained until his identity can be confirmed. That is, of course, if Mr. Jones doesn’t react in a way the officers deem a threat. In that case, there is a possibility of injury. But here’s another alarming variable –time – precious time that officers should be spending locating and apprehending the suspect.

Training

How much training will the armed staff members receive when the program is put into place? How much on-going annual training will they receive? How many hours will a staff member train before being allowed to carry a gun in schools? Depending on the location in the country, I have heard everything from eight to 24 hours of firearms training. It is important to realize that being able to shoot holes in paper does NOT mean you are ready for a potential deadly-force encounter. That readiness comes with intensive force-on-force training, decision-making scenarios, and high-stress combat shooting.

As you can see, identification and training alone raise several questions we need to consider before deciding to arm our school staff members. Look for Part 2 of the blog post, later this week.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Kevin Quinn is a 20-year veteran police officer and SRO in Arizona and the former President of the National Association of School Resource Officers. He is the current President of the Arizona School Resource Officers Association as well as an advisor to several school safety organizations. He can be reached on Twitter @klah316 or email kquinn@asroa.org.

/1 Comment/by

Safe and Sound Schools: 2016 Second Quarter Update

Second Quarter BlogIt seems like just yesterday we welcomed 2016 and yet here we are, several days into second half of the year. We kicked off the first quarter with a new website and several travels to various communities in the country, our second quarter has been no different. We’ve kept busy and true to our mission: empowering communities to improve schools safety.

In April, co-founder, Michele Gay, and speaker’s bureau member, Melissa Reeves, traveled to Virginia to hold reunification trainings with the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services. Around the same time, co-founder, Alissa Parker, board member, Bob Martin, and speaker’s bureau member, Tau Braun, attended the Preparedness Summit in Dallas, Texas. April travels culminated in Massachusetts where Michele Gay spoke at the Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Conference.

Meanwhile, Safe and Sound Schools focused its online efforts toward school safety and autism awareness. For the blog, Michele Gay shared her family’s personal experience as an autism family while Lisa Borges, executive director of The Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism, shared safety resources and information for families with autistic children. Safe and Sound Schools also partnered with FEMA, to encourage families to participate in America’s PrepareAThon.  

With May in full swing, Michele traveled to Oklahoma to revisit the students of Moore High School and closed out May travels with a visit to Palm Beach, Florida to keynote at the ASIS Law Enforcement Officer Awards.

In the social sphere, Safe and Sound Schools focused on mental health awareness, teacher appreciation week, nurse’s week, youth traffic safety month and EMS week.

As the end of the school year neared, Safe and Sound Schools turned much of its attention to school resource officers. In June, Safe and Sound Schools headed to Tennessee and Wyoming to hold all-day workshops and presentations. With the end of June approaching, Alissa Parker visited Sacramento, California to keynote at the California Department of Public Health’s 2016 Emergency Preparedness Training Workshop: Path to Preparedness. Safe and Sound Schools closed out the second quarter with a trip to Colorado to convene with SROs.

While the Safe and Sound family traveled, online efforts continued with a focus on SROs, national safety month, therapy dogs, allergy awareness month, and special message from Robbie Parker in honor of Father’s Day.

Now that we’ve reached the third quarter, we look forward to sharing some of our new initiatives that will take us into the fourth quarter, including student-focused resources. So, stay tuned for more updates by joining the Safe and Sound family and following us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

/by

School’s Out, SROs Are In

OS5A2515June is already drawing to a close.  Most of us are still wondering, “How did the school year go by so quickly?”

Maybe we’re just getting older.  In our defense, I hear the kids saying it too.

It’s the sign of a great school year.

Teachers are closing up their classrooms, parents are pushing the sunscreen, and kids are switching to low power mode. It’s summer.

Yet some of us are already looking ahead to next school year.  In fact at Safe and Sound Schools, summer means getting to work with some of our favorite community members: administrators, safety directors, school officials, emergency managers, law enforcement, and school resource officers.

This June, Alissa and I met with law enforcement officers in Florida, SRO’s in Tennessee and Wyoming, and will soon head to California to meet with emergency managers and responders.

I first spoke to a room full of these folks in April of 2013 at the Massachusetts Juvenile Police Officers Association (MJPOA), in Norwood, Massachusetts.  Though the President of the organization, now a great friend, insisted that my message be brought to the group of 400+ SRO’s, I really wasn’t sure what I had to offer.

I’m a mom, a former teacher, and the mother of three beautiful girls. My youngest was killed at Sandy Hook on December 14, 2012. My second survived, hiding in a closet with her teacher and classmates, and my oldest waited in “hard lockdown” for hours for news that she would never receive: that we were all alright.

Yes, I have a story.  I can grab the heart of a room full of people with it.  But I wondered, “What do I have for trained safety professionals?”  “How can I help them do what they are trained and called to do?”

That April morning, I stepped up to the podium to address a room full of SRO’s.  I wondered if they could see me standing behind it.  I felt so small.

I opened my mouth and the words came out.  My experience, my perspective, my observations. It was what I had to offer.

It was the beginning of a relationship between school resource officers and our fledgling foundation, Safe and Sound Schools. Since that day, folks like these have taken my experience and Alissa’s, our perspective and our observations, and made schools and communities safer.

Since that spring, we have steadily reserved our summers for law enforcement, emergency managers, school safety teams, and school resource officers.  By listening and learning from them, I can develop more powerful resources to make it easier for them to be effective in schools. For example, SROs have a better understanding of how to speak to teachers, students and parents. They also feel appreciated by the community.

This year, it was our privilege to offer full day Safe and Sound School training to the SRO’s of Tennessee and Wyoming, and to share our story with the many of the finest law enforcement officers in Florida.

We’ll continue with these efforts and close the month with the emergency mangers of California.  Together, by working with our School Resource Officers, we can accomplish great things.

So yes, summer is finally here, but our work for a safer school year–for safer futures–It’s only just begun.

– Michele Gay

 

/1 Comment/by