Proposed Bill Would Put an SRO on Every Campus in Rhode Island

Proposed Bill Would Put an SRO on Every Campus in Rhode Island

The idea behind the bill is to make sure there is a person trained to fire a weapon at each school.

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • February 22, 2018

A recently proposed bill would place a student resource officer at every school in Rhode Island, according to representatives from the state.

"We've had school shooting, after school shooting, after shooting and we really haven't seen a difference in our school security situation," said Rep. Gregg Amore.

Amore is one of the representatives pushing for SROs on every campus in the state.

"Parents should be able to drop their children off in school and say, 'The state, the federal government, the municipalities have done as much as they can to make sure my son or daughter is safe during the day,'" Amore said.

One of the largest challenges the state will face is staffing the campuses with officers. Currently in Rhode Island there is a shortage of police officers in many towns of the state. The new bill, if it goes into effect, would mean a lot of overtime pay and it is not clear how it much it would cost taxpayers.

The idea behind the bill is to make sure there is a person trained to fire a weapon at each school.

"I think it is a deterrent," Amore said. "I think if there is a presence, then the easy target is no longer easy."

The next step is for lawmakers to come together to iron out the fine details, such as logistics and finances.

"We've seen the costs of not having secure buildings," Amore said. "And that cost is just unacceptable to me."

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

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