WS Item 5
School Resource Officer Program
March 19, 2013
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Purpose
Provide Council an overview of the SPD’s SRO program
Discuss recommendation to expand the program
The purpose of the item before Council this evening is to provide Council with an overview of the Southlake Police Department’s current School Resource Officer Program and to discuss
the enhancement and expansion of the SRO Program.
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Goal of SRO Program
There are many goals, objectives and benefits of an SRO Program. In this slide I have highlighted three:
One goal is to Enhance security on all CISD campuses. Objectives of this goal
include to expeditiously identify criminal activity and to intervene as quickly as possible, providing a formidable presence that could prevent incidents from occurring, and supplying
CISD administrators and teachers with a valuable resource to provide support and advice regarding a variety of topics.
The second goal is to Reduce community fear regarding child safety:
Following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary, the entire nation gasped and questioned just how safe are students during school. The facts are that school shootings are rare as compared
to other threats or risks to students; however, parents, and the community in general, are less fearful for their children’s safety knowing a Police Officer is present on campus. I have
heard this time and time again from Southlake residents.
A third goal of the SRO Program is assisting in Reducing the likelihood of drug and alcohol use among our youth. One of the
greatest benefits of having Officers in schools is that they get to interact with students in a proactive and positive manner. It has been shown that these relationships contribute to
the development of anti-drug anti-alcohol views by students. Through frequent interaction, SROs are able to develop positive relationships with students and are provided the opportunity
to establish a mentor/coach type of relationship with the kids. This opportunity afforded to officers allows us to carry the message directly to the students on the dangers of abusing
these substances.
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Campus Information
Currently we have 3 Officers assigned to the SRO Unit. Officers are assigned to:
Carroll Senior High School
Carroll High School
Carroll and Dawson Middle Schools
Additionally, each
of these officers are responsible for periodically visiting Southlake elementary schools.
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Current SRO Program
This slide identifies the locations of the High Schools and Middle Schools.
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Recommendation History
On December 14th, 2012 at approximately 9:35am, life in the United States changed. Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary located in Newtown, Connecticut and proceeded
to kill 20 students and 6 school staff members. Every community in the nation began to question the safety of their children while in school. Southlake was and is no different.
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Recommendation History
Immediately following this event, the City began receiving requests to place an SRO in every Southlake school. In response to the Newtown tragedy, Mayor Terrell formed a Task Force to
tackle the many issues that were created as a result this horrific event.
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Task Force Membership
Members of the task force included representatives from:
The City of Southlake
Students and Parents Against Risks to Kids
The Crime Control and Prevention District
Carroll Independent
School District
Local Churches
Private Citizens
Homeland Security and Immigration Customs Enforcement
Private Business
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Recommendation History
Dec 14, 2012
Newtown Tragedy
Dec 2012
Mayor announces Task Force
Dec 21, 2012
Initial Task Force mtg; forms subcommittee
The Task Force met on December 21, 2012 and began discussions. During the first meeting a subcommittee was appointed with the goal of listing and categorizing potential risks/threats
facing our children. The subcommittee members included me, Homeland Security SAC Dave Marwell, Jay Lavin of Axiom Security. I also asked representatives of CISD and one of our SROs
to participate.
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Recommendation History
Dec 14, 2012
Newtown Tragedy
Dec 2012
Mayor announces Task Force
Dec 21, 2012
Initial Task Force mtg; forms subcommittee
Jan – Feb
Subcommittee meets 3 times; provides recommendations to Task Force
The Subcommittee met three times during the months of January and February and provided recommendations to the Task Force on February 6th.
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Recommendation History
Dec 14, 2012
Newtown Tragedy
Dec 2012
Mayor announces Task Force
Dec 21, 2012
Initial Task Force mtg; forms subcommittee
Jan – Feb
Subcommittee meets 3 times; provides recommendations to Task Force
Feb 6, 2013
Task Force requests to see different SRO staffing models
During the February 6th meeting, the Task Force considered many different factors surrounding different staffing models of an enhanced SRO Program.
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National Debate
No perfect model
Many municipalities struggling
Further conversations and debates to occur
Last month I attended a Police Executive Research Forum meeting in Washington D.C. The meeting was very well attended with every facet of the criminal justice system represented. Several
Chiefs who experienced active shooter situations attended and discussed their experiences. In fact, Chief Dan Oats of Aurora Colorado discussed the movie theatre shooting that occurred
in his city. I had the opportunity to speak with Chief Oats in private and I certainly benefited from the conversation.
Just in case you are unfamiliar with PERF:
Founded in 1976
as a nonprofit organization, the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) is a police research organization and a provider of management services, technical assistance, and executive-level
education to support law enforcement agencies. PERF helps to improve the delivery of police services through the exercise of strong national leadership; public debate of police and
criminal justice issues; and research and policy development.
The results of the day long summit was that more questions were asked than were answered. However, the group of criminal
justice leaders agreed:
There is no perfect model to prevent an active shooter situation at a school campus
Each municipality's needs differ and it is up to the municipality to customize
their response to reduce the opportunity for an active shooter to target a school
Additional conversations and debate will need to occur and that through these conversations and debates
a “best practices” approach may be developed
Attending this event aided me in assisting the Task Force with the challenges it was faced with.
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Staffing Model Considerations
SRO presence at all campuses vs. a few campuses
Police officers vs. private security
City officers vs. CISD officers
Full time officers vs. seasonal officers
Combination of full-time
and less than full-time
At the February 6th meeting the Task Force discussion focused on:
1. Should we have an SRO presence at all campuses or just a few more campuses than we currently have.
2. Should we use
Police officers or contract with a private security firm to increase presence at each campus
3. Should oversight of the SRO program be the responsibility of the City PD or should CISD
have a Police Department division within its operations
4. Should these SROs be full time officers or less than full-time officers, or a combination of full-time and less than full-time
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Recommendation History
From the February 6th meeting discussion the task force asked me to explore an expanded SRO program. On March 1st I presented options to the Task Force which included using a combination
of full-time and less than full-time employees to place an officer at each Southlake campus. The Task Force supported this model and made the recommendation to ask CCPD to fund this
expanded program.
For clarification a less than full-time employee is a peace officer who works when school is in session. This employee will, on average, work a 32 hour work week
10 months during the year.
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Task Force Recommendation
SRO in every public school
Including Florence Elementary (KISD)
SROs to be managed by Southlake PD
Ask CCPD to fund the enhanced staffing
During the March 1st meeting the Task Force recommended that:
An SRO be placed in every school
SROs be managed by the Southlake Police Department
Request the Crime Control and Prevention
District to fund the enhanced staffing
The model the Task Force selected to enhance and expand the current SRO Program included the combination of full-time and less-than full-time
employee to cover all Southlake schools.
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Expanded SRO Program
The Expanded SRO Program will provide the City of Southlake with full-time coverage for every CISD campus, including Florence Elementary.
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Recommendation History
In response to the Task Force’s recommendation, the issue was discussed with the Crime Control Board during their March 5th meeting. The Board unanimously approved the request to fund
the program.
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CCPD Budget Impact
FY 2013 Budget Amendment
Two months
$190,000
Personnel cost
Equipment
Training
FY 2014 Proposed Budget
Ten months
$700,000
Personnel cost
Equipment
In order to move forward with the Enhanced SRO Program, this summer during the budget process, we will be required to amend the 2013 crime control budget.
The budget amendment would
be in the amount of $190,000. This will allow us to fund the program for the final two months of this fiscal year. The monies will cover personnel costs, equipment and training.
In
order to fully fund the program for FY 2014, the budget impact will be $700,000 which will be included in the proposed CCPD Budget for 2014. These monies will cover personnel and equipment
costs for 10 months.
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Next Steps
August 2013
FY 2013 CCPD budget amendment
FY 2014 proposed CCPD budget
The next steps in this process will include amending the FY 2013 CCPD Budget during this summer and the inclusion of funding for the program in the FY 2014 CCPD Budget.
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City Council Discussion
Discuss accepting the Task Force and CCPD recommendation
Expanding the SRO Program
Placing an officer in each public campus
What is before the Council this evening is a discussion item to provide staff with your support to move forward with implementing the Task Force and CCPD recommendations to expand the
SRO Program in order to provide police coverage at all CISD campuses to include Florence Elementary. This concludes my presentation. Thank you for your consideration.
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Questions?
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