school closed sign

How School Resource Officers in Florida Are Still Contributing to Districts During Coronavirus Crisis

Officers are helping with truancy checks, technology assistance, road patrol and meal distribution as schools across the state remain closed through at least May 1.

In the Treasure Coast region of eastern Florida, school resource officers are seeing their responsibilities shift from campus-based services to assisting with county and district needs during the coronavirus crisis.

With schools across the state closed until at least May 1, the majority of Indian River County’s officers have been reassigned to road patrol duties to help the sheriff's department with responding to calls, TCPalm reported.

Officers are also on-call to help with the district’s activities, including distributing laptops to students at school locations, Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Eric Flowers said. If schools were to re-open this school year, Flowers expects the SROs to “transition back into” their campus duties.

St. Lucie County officers are also not assigned to specific schools during this closure period, but officers continue to visit schools on a daily basis to look for vandalism or signs of break-in, according to Maj. Brian Hester, the director of administration in the county sheriff’s office.

One group of officers was reassigned to helping with “juvenile arrest and monitoring” checks for students on probation, TCPalm reported. These SROs also conduct visits to the residences of students who are consistently absent from virtual classes. Hester said that officers are there to help with any technological needs and to make sure parents know their child is missing from class.

Within the Treasure Coast county of Martin, district officers are still assigned to schools and are conducting their regular security checks, according to district spokeswoman Jennifer DeShazo. Meal distribution and laptop/technology help are among their responsibilities at their respective campuses, she said.

Officers are also visiting students with truancy issues and responding to incidents at home involving law enforcement that may affect kids’ abilities to remain involved with school and attend online classes.

"If we don’t interact with them, we don’t know what’s going on in their world,” said Lt. Ryan Grimsdale of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

For those students on probation, being at school is required and so officers want to make sure they are “doing what they’re supposed to be doing,” Grimsdale added.

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Securing Higher Education: Combating Enrollment Fraud and Empowering Student Financial Success

    Higher education institutions are facing a costly and growing crisis: enrollment fraud. Between 2020 and 2022, the cost[1] of acquiring a new student surged by up to 32%, straining already tight budgets. At the same time, “ghost students” using stolen identities to enroll fraudulently put institutions at even greater financial risk. Read Now

  • How Composable Security Technologies Fortify Campus Safety

    Campus security teams have faced myriad risks threatening the safety and well-being of students and faculty this semester. Leaders have made tough tradeoffs about where to focus and how to channel limited resources to best protect their communities — but they now have a much-needed lift to their toolkit. Read Now

  • How Emerging Technologies are Transforming the School Security Landscape

    Students can't focus on learning when they're worried about their safety. As education systems nationwide face evolving security challenges with limited resources, a new generation of integrated technology solutions is helping schools create safer environments while maximizing staff efficiency. Read Now

  • How to Harness ALPR for Greater Security Efficiency and Collaboration

    Within higher education campus environments, the demand for greater security, efficiency, and resources is ever-present. Many higher education teams are adopting advanced technologies to secure their campus, streamline operations, and continue to best serve their students and faculty. Automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) technology stands out for its ability to meet a wide range of campus objectives. Read Now