Wetherfield to Receive Grants for School Security
WASHINGTON—Wethersfield and three other Connecticut towns will receive a total of $500,000 in new grants to hire and train police officers to protect local public schools, Democratic Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph I. Lieberman announced recently.
The grants, for the Wethersfield, Meriden, Suffield and East Windsor police departments, will allow law enforcement officers to work on school campuses as student resource officers, or SROs. The officers work with students and school administrators to curb crime and violence on campus and instruct students on state and local laws.
“Children today are faced with so many responsibilities and tough choices,” Dodd said in a statement. “At the very least, we must provide them with a safe school environment that fosters their academic and social development and give their families the peace of mind in knowing that their kids are safe.”
Thomas R. Moore, principal of Wethersfield High School, said his school currently has a part-time police officer who handles criminal matters on campus. With the new grants, Moore said, he hopes the officer will work full time. He said several area schools already have full-time officers.
Moore said Wethersfield, which has 1,200 students, has not had significant problems with crime. But in an era in which school-based crime and violence has increased in districts throughout the country, he said a full-time officer could work to prevent problems from developing.
The program is part of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, launched in 1994 by the Clinton Justice Department to increase the number of officers on the streets in communities throughout the country. Community policing focuses on crime prevention and assigns officers to beats to allow them to get to know residents or, in the case of schools, students.
In 1999, COPS began to train community police officers in Connecticut to work on local campuses. So far, Connecticut communities have received more than $9 million and have placed 74 police officers in public schools, said COPS spokesman David Buchanan.
The officers “become positive role models and improve the relationship between students and law enforcement,” Buchanan said.
Moore agreed that the officers were “much more than a security guard.” In addition to handling criminal matters, SRO officers work closely with students as counselors and instructors on issues relating to crime and the law. Moore said they take a “preventative and proactive” approach to school violence.
“In many schools the officers take on roles as teachers, mentors, coaches and instructors,” Buchanan said. “A lot of times they teach anti-bullying courses and criminal justice classes. Sometimes they are the coaches of sports teams or advisers to school clubs.
“Informally,” Buchanan continued, “they become friends and mentors for the students.”
Campus officers also receive training on school emergency response plans and school safety assessments. The grants pay each new officer up to $125,000 over three years.
Wethersfield applied for the SRO grants for the first time last January, Moore said. He said the school hopes to receive the grant money later in April.
