Owasso schools plan to add five armed security guards to their school district this fall
Owasso Oklahoma June 28 2023 With school resuming in a couple months most students will be slipping back into their normal school routine. However, Owasso public schools will be making some big changes.
“So we’ve been looking at doing this for a little while we wanted to add another school security measure to our district,” said Paul croft Director of Safety and security with Owasso schools.
Owasso schools will soon be adding five armed security guards to their school district along with their long standing school resource officers (SRO).
“Our SRO’S have been very helpful but to add the SSO’S to them will be another set of eyes an ears in the buildings as well,” said Croft.
Croft says the armed guards will be going through quite a bit of training.
“With the school security officers they are also going to be five years minimum CLEET certification with security backgrounds and yes they are allowed to carry weapons in the building,” said Croft
He says while the guards have weapons, it’s not the reason they are there.
“The weapon hopefully will never come into play in this situation but it’s there in case something has gone out of our control in the building,” said Croft
Having an armed guard at a school may make some people nervous. Croft wants to ease those concerns.
“We’re requiring a level 2 or 3 holster that’s an extra layer of security protection before the gun is pulled out of their holster,” said Croft. “For a kid just to walk up and pull it out that’s not gonna happen.”
Croft says Owasso Police has been very supportive.
“I’ve visited with the chief and the sergeant who is running our SRO program. They’ve been very supportive, the SGT has sat in on interviews for the sso positions. “
Croft says Owasso Police are helping them find the best candidates for the job.
“They have specialized training, and they will help us in identifying better applicants for this position,” said Croft.
He says they will be helping even after the guard is hired.
“So one of the things that we’ll be doing as well is cross training with Owasso PD,” said Croft.
In a statement to FOX23 the Owasso Police Department says.
“The Owasso Police Department is strongly committed to school safety. For over a decade, School Resource Officers have been assigned to Owasso Public School, patrolling the 15 OPS campuses. We fully support the decision to add armed security personnel to supplement the School Resource Officer program and we are confident that it will greatly assist in our efforts to ensure the safety of students and faculty in Owasso.”
