Jefferson County Sheriff to strengthen school safety with deputy in every school
Birmingham AL Sept 1 2018 Jefferson County Sheriff Mike Hale has unveiled a new comprehensive school safety plan that includes putting a deputy in every school and having a special team trained to spot potential dangers.
The sheriff – joined by Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Craig Pouncey and Jefferson County Commissioner Jimmie Stephens – held a news conference Minor Community School. Key elements of the plan include placing a school resource deputy in every Jefferson County elementary, middle and high school and an assessment team identify students who exhibit certain patterns of behavior that may indicate a need for assistance.
“Jefferson County is leading the nation in how we protect our schools and our school children,” Hale said.
The intense focus on school safety comes in the wake of the tragic Valentine’s Day shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., where a former student killed 17 students and staff. Weeks later, on May 18, a student killed 10 students and staff at Santa Fe High School in Texas. “There’s more interest in school safety than anything I’ve seen in probably 20 years,” Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey said in a previous interview.
Sheriff’s officials said that during the 2017-2018 school year, deputies with the sheriff’s School Resource Division investigated 81 felonies and 269misdemeanors, including 25 Terrorist Threat investigations.
Currently there are 25 school resource deputies serving 56 Jefferson County Schools. That number includes a K9 handler who floats between all the schools for searches.
Hale said Thursday he plans to hire 31 contract deputies to supplement the current staff to fulfill his goal of having a deputy in every school rather than a single SRO being responsible for, and roving between, high schools and feeder schools. The initiative, he said, will be partially funded in partnership with the school system and the Sheriffs budget.
Those contract deputies, he said, will be recently-retired law enforcement officers with current certification through the Alabama Peace Officers Standards and Training Commission. The sheriff’s office also will hold training for the new SRO’s through the National School Resource Officers Association. This training will include the Basic SRO Training Course and the Advanced SRO Training Course.
“There’s more interest in school safety than anything I’ve seen in probably 20 years,” Alabama Superintendent Eric Mackey said.
As for the threat assessment team, Hale said they will be trained to identify patterns of troubling behavior and provide resources for managing students who exhibit those patterns. The team will be made up of a sheriff’s investigator, a Jefferson County Board of Education member and a mental health worker.
The sheriff’s office School Resource Division was launched in 1999 and has been recognized as a model for other law enforcement agencies nationwide. Hale said the new plan will serve to reinforce their position as a national leader in school safety.
At least two private schools and one city are aware of Hale’s new safety plan and are currently negotiating with the sheriff’s office to provide SRO’s for their schools as well.
So far, Hale said, 19 applicants have been selected. More are needed. APOST-certified Alabama law enforcement officers retired in good standing who are interested in applying should contact the Sheriff’s Office Internal Affairs Division at 205-325-5709.
AL.com
