Organization Employment Information Mission Statement Bulletin Board Volunteers: Reserves Volunteers: Auxiliary School Resource Officer and Community Policing CrimeStoppers Community Education

K-9 Unit Communications 911 System Jail Information Jail Roster Records/Reports Activity Information Crime Statistics Coffey County Lake

School Resource Officer and Community Policing

The Coffey County Sheriff's Office has adopted a philosophy known as Community Oriented Policing to our patrol methods. The idea of providing Community Oriented Policing Services, or COPS, is not a new technique to law enforcement. However, by learning through history and past experience, our nation's law enforcement agencies are adopting the philosophy of partnerships with our communities and their organizations to improve communication and thus improve our ability to combat crime and to recognize and solve community related problems.

In 1997, the Coffey County Sheriff's Office applied for and received a federal grant allowing us to hire a COPS officer. This officer's duties would be primarily as a community liaison officer, going into community meetings, schools, and developing programs for our youth to improve relations and to break down the barriers that have caused communication gaps between the officers and the citizens they serve. As of year 2001, the grant funding expired. The Sheriff has supported this program and is now running the program out of his budget.

In August 2003, Deputy Nelson Fink was moved into that position. Since that date, Deputy Fink has been increasingly involved in our communities by attending meetings of our organizations, school assemblies and classroom instruction, developing various programs for our youth, and various patrol and investigation duties as they arise.

Community policing is a method which requires dedication to the basic motivations behind police service. We are here to protect and to serve our communities to the best of our abilities. Without community support, high ethical standards among our officers, and a willingness to learn about our communities' needs, this cannot be accomplished.

For additional information about community policing see the home page of the Community Policing Consortium at: http://www.communitypolicing.org.

Committed to Kansas Kids!

In June 2003, Deputy Fink was certified as a School Resource Officer or SRO. Deputy Fink is a member of Kansas Association of School Resource Officers, see their home page at http://www.kasro.org, and a member of National Association of School Resource Officers, see their home page at http://www.nasro.org. Deputy Fink's primary job is to protect property, staff, and students within our schools in Coffey County. Deputy Fink's other duties are to work school events and to work with the administration and students. In some cases he works with the parents of the student. Deputy Fink takes pride in what he believes in. He works with the following schools within Coffey County:  Burlington High, Burlington Middle, and Burlington Elementary; Lebo Junior/Senior High, and Lebo Elementary; Waverly Junior/Senior High, and Waverly Elementary; Southern Coffey County Junior/Senior High, LeRoy Grade School and Gridley Grade School; and the Coffey County Learning Academy.

What is a School Resource Officer?
By: Sean Burke, President

National Association of School Resource Officers
I am sure that by now everyone reading this article has heard of School Resource Officers (SROs) or has them working in their department or community. The tragedies that have occurred in our schools in the recent years combined with the Department of Justice dedicating millions of dollars to hire SROs for our nation's schools have made School Resource Officers the fastest growing field in law enforcement. With all the recent attention that the SRO Program has received, how is it that it is still a misunderstood position?

One of the reasons that the SRO concept has not gotten the attention it deserves in the past is that until recently, police departments around the country have called their programs by different names. Some departments had Officer Friendly, some had School Liaison Officers, School Safety Officers, or Juvenile Officers, but they all had the common thread of cops working in the schools with the kids. This is not a new concept. The first SRO type program was started in Flint, Michigan in the early 1950's with one goal, improve police/youth relations. This program and goal was the forefather to all of the above programs and led as an example on "the right way to do it." Police officers went into the Flint schools, not to occupy it, but to build relationships with the students and teach them to be better citizens. Over the years there have been examples of programs that follow this example being successful and ones that attempt to go into the schools using traditional policing methods to control them failing.

In 1991 an association called The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) was formed to bring all of the different programs from around the country under one umbrella of School Resource Officers. This 501c3 non-profit association brought uniformity and direction to programs around the country by offering support and training to officers assigned to schools. The role of an SRO was broken down into three duties and NASRO's Triad Model was established. The model of Law Enforcement Officer, Teacher, and Counselor became nationally recognized for School Resource Officers.

Law Enforcement Officer
Above all, any officer assigned to a school is a law enforcement officer, taking any necessary action to uphold the law. The SRO should be an armed representation of their department whether they are in full uniform, soft uniform, or plain clothes. The police department, in collaboration with whatever school district the SRO will be assigned, should make the decision on the type of uniform worn. Many departments around the country allow the SROs to choose what uniforms they wear depending on activities in the school on that day. The SRO also serves as a liaison between that school and the police department facilitating any exchange of information that may be necessary. The SRO during any action should also remember that he is a positive role model for the students in that school and his actions should be fair and reasonable at all times. Despite some initial reservations there has been no indication that the SRO making an arrest in a school or taking some other kind of law enforcement action will damage his reputation or image with the students of that school.

Teacher
The SRO should be considered part of the school staff for both educational and legal reasons. Due to the law enforcement background of the SRO he/she will be able to deliver a diverse law related curriculum. There are many opportunities for SROs to go into the classroom as guest speakers and contribute greatly to whatever subject is being taught at that time. The SRO is only limited to their own imagination and expertise. Beyond the typical social studies or law classes, SROs routinely speak in math, physical education, science, and history classes on how they relate to law enforcement. In a math class, the SRO might speak on how a police officer uses math to reconstruct an accident scene to see what happened during and before an accident. In a science class, the SRO may speak on how a radar gun works or how evidence is scientifically collected at a crime scene. The SRO may even go into a physical education class to show the physical fitness standards used by their department in hiring or in the police academy. As stated before, there are few limits to the classes that the SRO may apply their law enforcement expertise, but above all, speaking in a class allows the SRO to deal with the students on a much more personal scale. Teaching allows a great opportunity for a one on one conversation that the SRO might not be able to achieve any other way.

Counselor
I have saved the most controversial side of the Triad for last. When I speak on the issue of school policing this is inevitably the subject that always brings at least one disagreement. "I don't want my officers counseling" or "I'm not qualified to counsel" are always statements I hear from chiefs and officers alike. My answer is always the same, as law enforcement officers do we not counsel people every day? On patrol we are responding to domestic disputes where it is our job to find a peaceable resolution between the parties or responding to parents who need help controlling their children's activities and we must find at least a temporary solution to ease the situation. In both these situations, as patrol officers we counsel the parties involved and offer temporary solutions. We then refer them to people who will be able to assist them with more long-term solutions to their problems. It is no different to a SRO who is policing in a school environment. If you are an effective SRO it is very likely that you have built enough trust with the students that many of them will come to you with their problems. For the most part these will be minor issues that regularly arise as children grow up, but there will be the instances that have to deal with pregnancy, abuse, sexual assaults, and other emotional issues. Keeping in mind you mandate as a law enforcement officer you may have to act on the matter, but you may have to offer appropriate levels of support and information to the student. In matters that require no law enforcement action you may have to provide informational counseling, counseling that's obviously within the context of your training and experience. SROs also work regularly with school counselors, school nurses and social workers on issues facing their students.

When patrol officers become School Resource Officers they quickly learn how accurate their title is. They quickly become resources for the whole community to take advantage of. They become informational resources for the school faculty on the issues of gangs, truancy, drug abuse, and community services. They become informational resources to their police department as well as other area departments on juvenile crime trends and activities. Probation departments may enlist the aid of the SRO to monitor students in their school who may be under court supervision. Above all, the SRO is a resource to the students. They offer the young people in our schools unprecedented access to our legal system by giving them a realistic view of our laws, why our laws are enacted, what effect these laws have on them and why they should support them. Without a SRO in their school, students would not have such easy access to the police or legal information that will make them better citizens.

As you can see, being an SRO just might be the most difficult assignment in law enforcement. This is especially true when you add the additional responsibility of protecting our nation's most precious resource, our young. Violence that was once reserved only for our inner cities has now spread to all geographic and social divisions of our country and unfortunately into our schools. With studies showing that schools are still comparatively safe, we are all haunted by the visions of the horrific sights on our televisions of youngsters running from their school building seeking safety from a gunman who has opended fire inside. For all of the stories of school violence we hear about in the media there are many stories we do not hear about. Why? Because the SRO assigned to that school prevented the situation or intervened before it reached the disaster stage.

During times when there is no way for an SRO to prevent an incident, they are there to respond quickly to limit the injury the incident could have caused. On July 16, 2001 The National Association of School Officers honored one of those officers who risked his own life during a shcool shooting to save the lives of the students and faculty of his school. During the 11th annual National Association of School Resource Officers National Conference in Miami, FL, Officer Rich Agundez of the El Cajon, CA Police Department was sited for bravery for his actions during a shooting at the Granite Hills High School. Officer Agundez, a former SWAT team member who was assigned to that high school, quickly responded to the sound of gun shots coming from the area of the administration building. When he arrived he found James Hoffman, an eighteen-year-old senior, armed with a pump action shotgun and a .22 cal semiautomatic pistol. Hoffman had already shot three students and two teachers who were returning from lunch and fired at Officer Agundez when he saw him. Bravely the officer returned fire, striking and wounding the attacker allowing him to be placed in custody and clearly stopping the attack before there could be any loss of life. None of the five victims were fatally injured, but one can only wonder if the officer had not been there and responded quickly how many deaths might have occurred at the hands of this heavily armed suspect.

The School Resource Officer concept is proactive and is the ultimate example of Community Policing. Its police officers work directly with the community they protect, then tailor their methods to meet that communities needs. Having an SRO Program is a boost to any department and community, with positives that more than clearly outweigh any drawbacks.

For more information, please contact the author:
Sean Burke, President NASRO
Sburke57@aol.com or 978-479-8963
or National Association of School Resource Officers
www.nasro.org or 1-888-31NASRO