Office of the City of Sacramento Interim City Hall City Clerk Room 211 California*

It is the responsibility of the schools and law enforcement agencies to work together for safe schools.

The SRO program requires a different police presence than on the streets. The officers are assigned to a specific school. It is their beat. They know the school. They know the students. They know their names. They know those who are not a threat to society, and they know those who are. They work closely with the school administration to form a cohesive team. They are role models. They establish a bond of trust with the students. Some examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the program: 1) Students at a large local high school told the SRO that a violent altercation involving students was going to take place near the school. The SRO informed the Sheriff's Department. The deputies arrived, and the potential fight never took place; 2) In a suburban school, the SRO learned of an outside drug dealer who was peddling ecstasy. He was caught and received a long prison sentence. 3) There was word that an outside interloper was coming to campus to settle a grudge. The SRO learned of this and stopped a car in the parking lot. On the seat was a loaded gun, and two young men in the back seat with baseball bats. What would have been the result if the officer was not at the school? 4) In South Sacramento, expulsions in a large high school dropped from 53 to 22 after the advent of an SRO. 5) In the Sacramento City Unified School District there was dramatic improvement regarding the number of school related police reports. In 1999, the year prior to the SRO program there were 1447 reports. In the three years following, police reports were: Number of Reports Year 2000 600 2001 300 2002 300 51 ţ P. 03/04 Nov 6 '03 11:58 rax 910-552-8025 OF THE STATE OF THE Sacramento County Grand Jury June 30, 2003 ١ On a regular basis SROs: Meet with students Speak in class ٠ Help with conflict resolution Maintain a suicide watch Work with counselors . · Coordinate with law enforcement Patrol the neighborhood Meet with parents • Control rumors Present a positive law enforcement presence Identify gang members Therefore, the results have been significant, especially effective in pre-emptive prevention: the weapon not brought to school; the gang retaliation that doesn't take place; the drugs that are not on campus; the bullying that doesn't occur; the outsider who does not come inside. These results bring a sense of calmness, a feeling of psychological safety. As a result, the SRO becomes a positive police figure who has high visibility and can summon his colleagues at a moment's notice. Findings and Recommendations Finding #1. The School Resource Officer is essential to the safety of students at school.