North Cedar Community School District > School Resource Officer

School Resource Officer

It is the goal of the North Cedar Community School District to expand their partnership with the Clarence Police Department through the use of a school resource officer (SRO). The goal of the school resource officer is to collaborate with district administration, staff, parents, and students to assist the district in its work to provide safe and healthy learning environments for students, staff, faculty, and guests.

The SRO:

  • Is a vital member of the school’s administrative team, helping to solve problems within the school community.
  • Is an educational resource for students, teachers, administrators and parents.
  • Provides students with a positive role model and balanced view of law enforcement.
  • Is a proactive law enforcement officer dealing with law related issues on campus.

Many Different Roles

Law Enforcer
  • Any criminal or law related issue that arises on campus is the SRO’s responsibility. In many ways, his or her school is no different than any other patrol beat. Whether it is child abuse, truancy, disorderly conduct, theft, or some type of assault, the SRO is there to handle it quickly and professionally. SRO’s work closely with the school administration in these issues.
  • The SRO will proactively address the crimes that occur on campus, both through education and other programs. Every school is different, so each SRO must tailor his or her efforts to their particular school(s).
Counselor
  • The SRO is a resource for the faculty, students, and parents that will provide informal counseling and/or advice. These officers have received extensive training regarding programs and services available to handle problems and conflicts. Getting the right kind of help to those that need it is one of the SRO’s highest priorities.
Teacher/Trainer
  • The SRO is available as a guest speaker or as a resource for classes within the school.
Mentoring
  • SRO’s have the opportunity to form lasting impressions on young people. To help students succeed, the SRO provides guidance, tutoring, and coaching to students with special needs or problems.

The schools included in these efforts are North Cedar Jr./Sr. High School, North Cedar Elementary School (Lowden Site), and North Cedar Elementary School (Mechanicsville Site). The school resource officer and the North Cedar Community School District continuously work to promote a coordinated effort among agencies and staff in order to achieve maximum public safety. SRO’s will follow all FERPA (Family Education Rights to Privacy Act) laws pertaining the roles and rights of an SRO officer.

Frequently Asked Questions

We invite you to read through the information below to help answer any questions you might have about SRO programs in schools.

The School Resource Officer program serves the North Cedar Community School District. The school resource officer is an employee of the Clarence Police Department and is not an employee of the North Cedar Community School District. It is the intention of the Clarence Police Department and the North Cedar Community School District to maintain collaborative efforts to provide a safe and healthy school environment for students, staff, faculty, and visitors. Both parties desire a maximum degree of long-range cooperation and administrative planning in order to provide for the safety and security of the community and its children. Both commit to providing appropriate programs and services to prevent children from becoming at risk and to intervene effectively with children already involved in the juvenile justice system. Both intend to improve service delivery to children in the community through sharing information, eliminating duplication of services, and coordinating efforts. Lastly, both promote positive attitudes regarding the police role in society.

The SRO will be a visible and positive law enforcement figure on campuses. They will assist the superintendent, principals, faculty, and staff in developing plans and strategies to prevent and/or minimize dangerous situations that may occur on school grounds. They are to present topics to students on various law enforcement/safety issues with the permission and guidance from the school principal. They will contact the principal of the school about any juvenile delinquency, incidents, charges, and arrests within a timely manner. They will take law enforcement action when necessary. To conduct investigations of crimes that occur at any school and use other resources if needed for follow up investigations. They must follow the guidelines of case law, school board policy, and the Clarence Police Department general orders in regards to investigations, interviews, and searches relating to juveniles. To be a resource for students, this will enable them to associate with a law enforcement figure in the students’ environment. They will also be a resource for teachers, parents, and students for conferences dealing with problems or questions. They will wear their department authorized duty weapon and uniform in accordance with police department policy.

Alcohol and drug prevention, juvenile law, peer pressure, bullying, internet safety, bicycle/traffic safety, 911 usage, stranger danger, Halloween safety, gun safety, and other topics requested by teachers.

SRO Duties

The SRO has many duties including:

  • Providing input on district strategies and plans for dealing with dangerous situations (crisis management/threat assessment planning)
  • Providing law enforcement, safety, drug, and alcohol education to students
  • Providing administrative support for cases requiring investigations beyond administrative function
  • Being a general resource for students, teachers, and parents.

The SRO is also committed to providing appropriate programs. They will provide services to prevent children from becoming at risk and to intervene effectively with children already involved in the juvenile justice system.