To: Honorable Mayor and Members of Town Council
From: Jack Cauley, Chief of Police
Title
Discussion/Direction: School Resource Officer (SRO)
Body
________________________________________________________________________________
Executive Summary
In the aftermath of the school shooting that occurred May 7, 2019 at the STEM School in Highlands Ranch, the question of the safety and security of our student population in Castle Rock is top of mind for many within the community. Although, no community is immune from the possibility of senseless acts of violence like what occurred at the STEM school, in Castle Rock we have implemented a solid foundation of precautionary measures and best practices to keep our children as safe as possible.
Below is a summary of best practices implemented in Castle Rock for the safety and security of our students.
Discussion
School Resource Officers
Castle Rock Police partnered with the Douglas County School District to provide a full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) at Castle View High School. In 2019, a new position was allocated to provide a full-time SRO assigned to serve both Castle Rock Middle School and Mesa Middle School.
The role of the school resource officer is multi-faceted. School resource officers provide safe learning environments, provide valuable resources to school staff members, foster positive relationships with students, develop strategies to resolve problems affecting youth, and protect all students so they can reach their full potential.
SROs use a “triad concept” defined as educator (i.e. guest lecturer), informal counselor, and law enforcement officer.
SROs provide a critical and vital layer to the multiple layers necessary for the safety and security of our student population. SROs work along-side students each and every school day. They build rapport and trusting relationships with the students. The SROs are in a role that allows them to utilize their relationships and knowledge of students to identify behavioral concerns early and to provide timely intervention.
Identifying and responding to behavioral concerns is critical to preventing violence in schools. SROs play a major role in this area of responsibility.
SROs also work with school administrators on a number of safety-related issues such as:
• School safety and security plans
• Practicing drills (fire, lock out, lock down, shelter in place)
• Member of School Crisis Team
• Investigates and follows-up on school threats
• Member of Threat Assessment Team
School Marshal Program
In 2012, as the result of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, Castle Rock Police collaborated with the Douglas County School District in the development and implementation of the School Marshal Program (SMO), which provides two school marshals to cover certain elementary schools within the Town. Those schools include: Castle Rock Elementary, Clear Sky Elementary, Flagstone Elementary, Meadow View Elementary, Rock Ridge Elementary, Sage Canyon Elementary, Soaring Hawk Elementary, South Ridge Elementary, Renaissance Magnet, Early Childhood Center South, Cantril Preschool/eDCSD, DC Oakes High School (9-12 grade fundamental)
and Academy Charter, Aspen View Academy, and Renaissance Secondary (6-12 grade 2019/2020).
YESS Program
Y.E.S.S. is a proactive collaboration between law enforcement, schools and the community to develop life skills for our future leaders.
Our school resource officers are also certified Y.E.S.S. instructors and primarily teach students in grades 6, 7 and 8 about:
• Teen relationships (bullying, harassment, dating violence and abuse)
• Internet/digital safety (cyber bullying and sexting)
• Substance abuse
• Appropriate use of the Text-A-Tip and Safe2Tell applications
In addition to visiting elementary schools and taking reports, our school marshal responsibilities include teaching the YESS program. The middle-school SRO teaches Y.E.S.S. at Mesa Middle School and potentially at Castle Rock Middle in 2019/2020.
Hotlines
Hotlines such as Safe2Tell Colorado and Text-A-Tip are two lines of communication students in Castle Rock and throughout Douglas County can use to report information to law enforcement. We take these calls seriously and thoroughly investigate each call.
Mental Health
We have taken proactive measures to address mental health-related issues in our community. For example, the co-responder program or what we call the Community Response Team (CRT) consists of a mental health clinician who rides with a police officer handling calls for service to help people suffering from a mental health crisis. Additionally, 79 percent of our officers have been trained in the Critical Intervention Team (CIT), which teaches officers how to communicate and help people who suffer from mental health issues.
Training and equipment
Castle Rock Police officers receive on average 115-hours of training per year. The state-mandated minimum is 24 hours. Much of that training includes active shooter response, de-escalation techniques, and multi-jurisdictional emergency response.
During the last several years, we have equipped our officers with the best equipment such as individually assigned patrol rifles, upgraded armor, and body-worn cameras, just to name few.
Collaboration
We enjoy a great working relationship with members of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Parker Police, Lone Tree Police, as well as the Douglas County School District. We all work together to ensure we are providing a safe environment for the kids.
Budget Impact
The 2019 Police General Fund budget impact is $61,885 in operating expenses, half of which will be reimbursed by Douglas County School District. In addition, $57,500 will be expended in the Police Capital Fund for the purchase of an additional vehicle. These expenditures and the reimbursement revenue are requested as part of the second amendment to the 2019 Budget.
Staff Recommendation
Staff has conducted an analysis of our level of service related to school safety and concluded it would be prudent to add another middle school SRO. This would provide a full-time SRO at both Mesa Middle School and Castle Rock Middle School.
Currently, one SRO covers both middle schools. This leaves one middle school without an SRO for at least half of the school day. Adding a second middle school SRO would provide a full-time SRO at both the middle schools with the added benefit of providing additional capacity for the SRO assigned to Castle View High School when necessary.
We know in almost every case of school violence the perpetrator demonstrated warning signs prior committing the act. Having an SRO assigned at both middle schools will increase a critical security layer and enhance our capability of identifying and responding to individuals who demonstrate concerning behavioral cues. The result will be a safer and more secure environment for our student population.
The Town Manager has included an additional SRO position for the middle schools in the proposed 2020 budget. If approved, we would like to move forward with the position this year to have the SRO in place for the 2019/2020 school year.