Thank You SRO's! Raptor Supports Your Efforts All Year Long

  

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As lay persons, most of us never take part in the training provided to law enforcement.  But for the past decade, I've had the unique opportunity to participate, facilitate and learn side-by-side with some of the most dedicated men and women in the field.

School Resource Officers (SRO's), for the most part, are street cops who work in our public schools for a good part of their day.  And despite recent budget cuts in education resources, more and more school districts are making SRO's an important presence on their campuses.

In today’s climate of violence, it's just too much for teachers and administrators to appropriately handle the day-to-day trouble on campus.  Additionally there are the legal ramifications of how each incident is handled.

This is why, each summer and throughout the year, SRO's attend training and share information with each other across the state, as well as throughout the country.

When I grew up, we had fights on campus.  If caught, we were sent to the principal’s office, our parents were called and we might get a few days suspension.  The principal also kept a paddle on the wall, and if you were willing to take a few swats everything was resolved right there.

But today, it is a legal matter.  Charges can be filed if due diligence and procedures aren't followed precisely.  It's not unusual anymore for a trouble-making student to be cuffed and hauled off in a police car.  If you choose not to arrest the kid, then the parents may have legal recourse in some cases.  SRO's new to the campus environment need to have a thorough understanding of the rules.

MIKE JONES - BAY COUNTY SCHOOLS

DIRECTOR OF SECURITY

I have been fortunate to attend numerous trainings from active shooter to FBI profiler, and all of them teach the signs to look for when interviewing an active case.  There have been many high profile cases over the years which have caught the media's eye.  And for this reason, SRO's also need to be trained on how to correctly answer the questions asked.  (The media loves to run with something many times before the facts are straight.  SRO’s are not big fans of the media.  I for one cannot blame them).

Many SRO training courses are a necessary evil, such as one I attended on teen killers.  That full day of training will open your eyes.  But what these classes really do is make the officers aware that what they could be hearing or seeing is crucial to saving lives.  Posters in a locker or a certain behavior could  be indicators that a kid might go off.

The instructors for these courses do endless research and present case studies going back to school killings in the 1800’s.  So many times the signals were there, but no one saw them. That's why training is helpful.  As one of their many tools, SRO's profile people.  Sorry folks, that's just the facts.  And I, for one, am glad they do. 

SRO's are trained to predict trouble before it gets out of hand.  They spend countless hours in those classes to stay one step ahead of troubled kids, and they lives in our schools each and every day.

So the next time you see a SRO, take a moment and say thank you.  That goes for street cops and even the men and women in our armed forces, too.  So much goes on around us that we're never exposed to because they stop it before it starts. 

Summer training for law enforcement is vital, and Raptor supports these organizations in as many ways as possible to ensure that they get that training-  and maybe enjoy their time while they're there.

Thanks guys- for everything you do! 

E. Allan Measom

President & CEO

Raptor Technologies Inc.