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Opinion
Editorial
Opinion Editorial
Schools need protection against the bad guys. It’s a known fact that students and staff who feel safer with a school resource officer to achieve their goals easier that those who don’t have a resource officer on campus. School resource officers are needed on campus in order to keep the peace and the disruptive behaviors under control. Many communities seek the help of school resource officers because their children attend these public and sometimes private schools. Every parent wants to know that their child will always have some type of protection against the criminal and bag guys so to speak. School resource officers are not only there for protection but also to educate, counselors, and to be law enforcers. Strong school resource officer programs are built on careful selection and training officers to be well defined and responsible. There is a comprehensive agreement between the school and the law enforcement agency that fosters collaboration, communication, and ongoing evaluations. Many schools are proactive on the fact that a police officer is on campus and there for their safety and protection.
According to the text that was read in the journal article “School Resource officers: Steps to Effective school based law enforcement” the author stated that for students and educators to achieve full potential, safe schools are fundamental (Thomas, Towvim, Rosiak, & Anderson, 2013). It’s better for students to have a safe environment to go to. Nobody wants to go to school were you cannot focus and all you are worried about is your safety. It puts your mind at ease knowing someone will protect you. Students who report feeling safe at school are more engaged in the classrooms and teachers are more willingly to teach. Resource officers help the children to better themselves and achieve goals that they thought couldn’t be achieved. They are there to help motive, encourage, and protect the people in the school. Youth centered policing requires intervention training for the officers to take steps to bring back to the school setting and helping the troubled youth. Resource officers build skills and knowledge to make relationships between officers and students work.
There is a few cons about have school resource officers on school grounds. Some but not all students say that have and resource officer on campus is pointless and a waste of the governments money. Students claim they have an officer on campus makes them nervous and scared to be themselves. School resource officers can be intimidating at times. Having a school resource officer on campus is beneficial even if people believe it or not.
The resource officer stops that urge you have when you want to act out or if something major happens will students are on school grounds like fighting, bomb threats, or even shootings. These types of things happen from time to time even if we don’t want to think about it. There are pros and cons about have a school based resource officer on school grounds but the pros outweighs the cons significantly. In my reading I found that having a school resource officer on campus is beneficial and somewhat necessary to have when there is students, and staff involved. If you want to know what’s going on in the schools you have to ask the students they are the key source to what’s going on inside the school houses. However, the students must want to talk to you and not be afraid or intimidated by your character or demeanor. The resource officer have to gain respect and confidents from the students, staff, and administration to be able to achieve in the resource officer programs. There should be a positive relationship between the two. Through positive relationships with students, SROs can glean knowledge of issues occurring in the community that can impact school safety, which gives them insight into campus threats, community problems, and safety concerns (Thomas, Towvim, Rosiak, & Anderson, 2013).
In conclusion to reading the journal article I found out that it is best for a school resource officer to be present on campus at all times. They are there for our protection and wellbeing. Resource officer gain respect from the students because they take the time out to see what their problems are and what they are going through during a tough time. School resource officers can be valued members of the cross agency school safety team but helping many schools promote safety and nonviolence against each other. Through good communication and positive attitudes school resource programs are successful.
By: Kayla Powell