Sheriff: Callaway County student resource officer program sees success
The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office says it’s seeing success in its School Resource Officer program after one full-year of implementation.
New Bloomfield R-III School District, North Callaway County Schools and South Callaway County Schools each have an SRO. Sheriff Clay Chism said Fulton Public Schools and Holts Summit are under the watch of their own police departments.
“This isn’t just sign up for a year and go back to the road next year,” Chism said. “These SROs are in the schools to grow, just as the students are growing.”
He said the three SROs provide security to the schools they work in but also act as support systems to the students.
“That bond doesn’t end at 3:30 when school is dismissed,” he said. “These SROs have a bond with these students 24/7, nights, weekends, holidays that people don’t know about.”
Deputy Joshua Anderson is the SRO for South Callaway County Schools.
“Law enforcement isn’t just about fighting crime, it’s about community outreach,” Anderson said.
He said students who graduated from South Callaway High School last school year still reach out to him and ask for advice.
The Callaway County Sheriff’s Office posted to Facebook about the program earlier this week and said the three SROs combined will be responsible for 114 school-based interventions, programs and activities this school year.
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