As a Matter of Fact
The School Resource Officer {SRO} idea has been around since the mid 1950's The Flint Michigan Police Department started the concept of placing a uniformed police officer in the schools as part of a Community Policing Idea. Having an officer interact with the students on a regular basis, in the classroom and in the hallway, so as to make the officer more approachable on the streets of their communities. In the 1960's and 70's this idea gained support in certain areas of the country with Florida leading the way. Popularity for the plan faded in the 80's but picked up again throughout the 1990's. Then on September 6th, 2000 the U.S. Department of Justice announced the "Cops in Schools" program as a part of it's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services {C.O.P.S.}. The Department of Justice awarded $68 million in grants to 289 communities across the nation to hire 599 School Resource Officers. This original grant has been expanded each year to allow for more communities to take advantage of this program in their schools.
The First role of the SRO is that of a Law Enforcement Officer, whose sworn duty is to protect life and property by enforcing laws of their state and community.
The Second role of the SRO is that of an advisor to students, staff and administration in that the SRO is available to answer their questions on a host of topics related to law enforcement, building security, student and staff safety as well as working with each of these groups to improve upon the school environment.
Lastly, the SRO serves as a classroom instructor. The SRO can be invited into the classroom to talk with the students about many topics related to law enforcement such as bullying, drugs & alcohol, driver safety, peer pressure, internet safety or almost any topic chosen by the teacher or the students.
Many organizations for SRO's have been formed over the years with N.A.S.R.O. being the largest. The National Association of School Resource Officers was formed to give SRO's a unified voice. This organization has an on-line resource available to it's members so that they can give and recieve information such as membership applications, upcoming training sessions, conference agendas, online magazine resources and lesson plans on a host of topics for the classroom. Many states also have their own SRO organization.
One Point that should be brought out is that having a uniformed police officer in a school does not necessarily mean that the school is a violent or dangerous location, it does however take a step towards preventing school violence in that building and putting a parent's mind at ease as to whether their child is safe at school.
Approximately 20 years ago an organization was formed to assist the families of Police Officers who were killed in the line of duty. This organization, called C.O.P.S., {Concerns of Police Survivors} www.nationalcops.org , recognized that the survivors of Police Officers were terribly traumatized and often grew deeply depressed because their loved one's ending was so sudden and so violent.
Without C.O.P.S., families and co-workers were often left to struggle through the horror of their loved one's gruesome death with little or no help. Family members had nightmares, grew angry, or became deeply depressed because someone so vital to their life was killed or murdered. Everyone's suffering was deep and prolonged.
The details of a Police Officer being killed or murdered are absolutely horrible to hear and often unbearable to live with. The Officer's family is tortured by thoughts of those last moments before their loved one's life ended.
When you are the spouse or child of a Police Officer the thoughts of whether or not they will return home from work are an uncomfortable part of your life that can weigh heavily on your mind.
The next time you read about a Police Officer who has died, just for doing their job, remember the family and friends they have left behind.
Please visit the C.O.P.S. web side at www.nationalcops.org for information about this great organization.
www.nleomf.com/TheMemorial/stories.htm - Please click this like to read some touching Personal Tribute Stories that families and friends of fallen officers have submitted.
www.nationalcops.org/npw.htm or www.nleomf.com/TheFund/NPW05.htm Click these links for information on the National Police Week activities, held in Washington, D.C., to honor ALL Law Enforcement Officers who have been killed in the line of duty.
There are approximately 870,000 Law Enforcement Officers in the United States.
The first reported death of a Police Officer, in the line of duty, was in 1792.
Since 1792 more than 16,500 Law Enforcement Officers have died in the line of duty.
Approximately 194 of the Officers killed in the line of duty were female.
Since 1852 at least one Law Enforcement Officer has been killed in the line of duty each year.
In the last 10 years these deaths have averaged out to one officer killed in the line of duty every 53 hours.
In 1991, a memorial to these fallen heroes was dedicated by President George Bush, in Washington D.C. On its marble walls are the names of every known officer who has died in the line of duty since 1792. Names are continually added as they become known. This memorial is funded by donations -- NO TAX DOLLARS WERE USED IN ITS CONSTRUCTION OR IN ITS MAINTENANCE.
Please visit the site at: The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund