Date: 09/09/2015

Final
Presentation by School Resource Officers

SCHOOL SAFETY AND YOUTH IN CRISIS

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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09:12 AM -- Presentation by School Resource Officers

Senator Scheffel, chair, called the meeting to order and roll call was taken. He invited the panel of School Resource Officers (SROs) to the table: John Jackson, representing the Colorado Association of Chiefs of Police, Jeff Grady, SRO at Grand Junction High School, and Stacey Collis, SRO at Green Mountain High School, came to the table to discuss school safety and school policing. Mr. Jackson stated that police and law enforcement presence causes schools to be safer. He said that SROs wear many hats every day, including teacher, counselor, and occasionally police officer. He said they are positive role models, not school disciplinarians, and are responsible for providing security and prevention resources. Chief Jackson told the committee that not every school has an assigned SRO, and schools that do not have a dedicated SRO rely on local law enforcement which can be problematic because of the lack of continuity. He said that it is important to develop partnerships among the school administration, parents, students, and law enforcement, and that consistent roles and presence will lead to consistent outcomes. He explained that there are approximately 200 SROs across 25 percent of school districts throughout the state, and provided statistics showing that having an SRO in a school causes teachers to feel safer in school and leads to a reduction in criminal incidents being reported in schools. He stated that SROs use a non-ticket and non-enforcement approach whenever possible, and in determining what is in the best interest of the student.


09:24 AM

Mr. Collis began his presentation. He told the committee about his professional background, and distributed a handout (Attachment A). He stated that if a school does not have an SRO and a police officer is called to respond to an incident, the officer's main priority is enforcement by either giving a ticket or making an arrest as opposed to spending the time getting to know the student in order to find out what might be contributing to the situation at hand. He told the committee that SROs are resources; they provide education to students, staff, and community, prevention, mentoring, law enforcement, community policing, relationship building. Mr. Collis spoke about the impact of Amendment 64 on SROS, and talked about some of the programs in which he participates at his school, including a mock car accident, Christmas cheer, volunteering for the Boys and Girls Club, criminal justice club, girls circle for at-risk girls, Girls on the Run program, Youth Police Academy at the Lakewood Police Department, High Risk Youth Intervention Team, Cops and Donuts, Police Athletic League, Teen Court, and Mental Health Court.

15SchoolSafety0909AttachA.pdf15SchoolSafety0909AttachA.pdf

09:37 AM

Mr. Grady began his portion of the presentation and told the committee about his professional background in law enforcement. He stated that he implemented the SRO program in his community through the sheriff's office, and explained that since he is member of the Colorado Association of School Resource Officers (CASRO) he trains new SROs. He explained that SROs use a three-pronged approach: education, prevention, and enforcement. He talked about the importance of forming relationships and connections with administrators in schools, and said that the more community outreach programs SROs participate in, the stronger the relationships. He discussed enforcement and the need to uncover why students do what they do, such as if a student has a parent in prison, that student does not need to be given a ticket or be arrested, he or she needs to be provided with services and support. Mr. Grady spoke about his experience taking students to Mind Springs mental health center if the student expresses or shows evidence of mental health issues. He talked about the challenges of providing training hours for SROs and the importance of training for dealing with students with mental health issues.


10:02 AM

The presenters answered questions from the committee about training for threat assessments, school crisis teams, re-entry policies for students, and the importance of building relationships between SROs and school administrators. They continued to answer questions about information sharing in regards to behavioral and mental health, who is accountable if that information is not adequately shared, and about the cost of and funding for having an SRO in each school.


10:18 AM

The presenters answered questions about school safety plans and whether SROs are bound by these plans. Mr. Collis and Mr. Grady explained that SROs are completely separate entities and therefore are not bound by school rules and policies. Mr. Grady explained the difference in the number of referrals to law enforcement between schools that have SROs and schools that do not have SROs. The presenters talked about the relationships that SROs have with county departments of human services and the relationships between SROs and elementary school students with mental health issues.


10:36 AM

The presenters responded to questions about the percentage of schools in Colorado that have SROs in rural and urban districts, and about the training that SROs receive. Mr. Collis stated that there is a line between prevention and enforcement, and spoke about data on referrals to law enforcement across districts. The committee discussed how SROs educate parents and schools about lock down training.