School resource offi cers,
City of Barre
By Allan Stein
ARRE CITY — For
many students, the
school resource offi cer
will be their fi rst encounter
with law enforcement.
By the same token, this will
be Brieanna Murphy’s fi rst
year as SRO with the Barre
City Police Department.
“Ultimately, I believe the
role of a school resource offi cer
is to provide security for the
students and staff. Safety is
top priority and will always
come fi rst,” says Murphy, as
she continues her fi rst year as
SRO.
Murphy said she covered
the position last October for
another offi cer and “fell in love
with the position.”
“There is a lot of special
training that goes into
becoming a school resource
offi cer,” Murphy says.
“This is a different side
of law enforcement and can
be different from the patrol
position. The safety of the
school is top priority. With
that being said, a school
resource offi cer will require
training to ensure that the
school is protected under their
watch.”
When Murphy covered
the position last October, she
found that her average day
B
Photo Provided
Barre City Resource Offi cer Brieanna Murphy, center, with members of the area Salvation Army.
consisted of being present
and seen each day at the high
school.
Offi cer Jason Fleury is the
school resource offi cer for the
elementary/middle school.
Offi cer Anthony Amaral has
just retired from the high
school position after dedicating
a few years there as well.
“I wanted it to be known
that law enforcement is here
for the schools’ safety,”
Murphy said. “I spoke with
students in the driver’s ed
classes about motor-vehicle
law, and many students came
up to me and said that they
felt a little more comfortable
around law enforcement
offi cers now that they have
had a conversation with one.
I want to bring these same
aspects to this upcoming
school year.”
For many students, the
SRO will be the fi rst time they
interact with law enforcement
up close in a school setting.
Murphy said she wants
students to feel comfortable
speaking to law enforcement
offi cers, “as sometimes the
uniform can be intimidating to
kids/young adults.
“I want to help build a
strong relationship between
students and their local police
department because pretty
soon they will become citizens
of the same city that they went
to school in,” she said.
Since this is a new position
for Murphy, some students
recognize her from responding
to their house from when she
worked patrol, she said.
“For some students I might
feel like a familiar face, but
for others they might associate
me with negative feelings.
Unfortunately, apart of the job
is that we as offi cers respond
to traumatic incidents that
children and young adults are
involved in,” Murphy said.
Murphy said this can range
from an arrest she might have
made on a family member, or
the student, or she might have
responded to a death in their
family.
“A challenge will be what
can I do for these students
that have only seen law
enforcement in a traumatic
environment, and what can we
do as a school system to help
the student process the trauma,
along with what resources can
we offer the student and the
family,” Murphy said.
BARRE-MONTPELIER TIMES ARGUS HOMETOWN HEROES AUGUST 2019 • 9