CANTON — The St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators passed a resolution last week during its Operations Committee meeting authorizing the board chair to sign contracts establishing a school resource officer program for school districts in the county.
The county has received requests for SROs from some school districts “to ensure a safe environment conducive to enriched learning,” the resolution reads.
SROs, according to the resolution, will be a deputy sheriff of the county Sheriff’s Office who is assigned to work in collaboration with a particular school. The role of the SRO includes being a protector, enforcer, first responder, mentor and community liaison.
“I was approached by Ogdensburg City School District about having an SRO in their school,” Sheriff Brooks J. Bigwarfe said, adding that he recently went to a meeting with superintendents from across the county who also voiced interest in having SROs.
Mr. Bigwarfe said Hermon-Dekalb Central School and Edwards-Knox Central School expressed interest in the program. Potsdam Central School already has an SRO through the Potsdam Police Department.
This program would establish an SRO program through the Sheriff’s Office rather than local police stations.
“I support this, and fully think it’s important for officers to be in school districts for the safety of students, because I’m responsible for the safety of every citizen in the county,” Mr. Bigwarfe said.
He said the deputies would have to be trained specifically to be an SRO through the Municipal Police Training Council.
There, Mr. Bigware said, officers are trained in de-escalation tactics, dealing with students with disabilities, and other safety standards.
He said the call for SROs does not reflect a rise in danger within schools.
“We want to be proactive, and anything we can do to stop any of the dangerous things from occurring in our schools we should do,” Mr. Bigwarfe said. “We always want to be preventative.”
Under the program, Mr. Bigwarfe said there would be one officer per school. That officer would be armed, he said, for their own protection as well as for the protection of anyone in the school.
“With active shooters out there, it’s important that officers can protect staff, faculty and students at all times,” he said.
Although Mr. Bigwarfe said the No. 1 reason for the SROs is the safety of everyone, he added that another component of their presence is to build a positive relationship with students. They also could be used for educational purposes, with officers giving talks on drug and alcohol abuse, child abuse, internet safety, and careers in law enforcement, among other safety topics.
Having passed in the Operations Committee, the resolution will be up for a vote during the next full board meeting on Jan. 3.
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