RICHMOND, Ky. — One of the most important parts of a school resource officer’s duties is to interact with students. In recent months, interacting with students has been harder as school resource officers in Kentucky have had to be pulled out of the schools due to staff shortages at local police departments.

Richmond Police Department Officer Brian Lafferty noted during a meeting of the Ellis Coalition, a recently formed task force working to keep the community safe with a goal of retaining officers, that “only one officer has been consistently working the city’s middle and high schools.” The coalition, in a release, added, “this is a great concern and hopefully the swift actions of the Richmond City Commission will help us add veteran qualified officers to the RPD staff so we can have more coverage at the schools.”

Sworn law enforcement officers working in district schools, SROs serve as a security presence, student mentors, program directors, administrative support, activity sponsors and even as teachers in many school settings. In addition, SROs also provide needed violence prevention assistance and instruct students via the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) program, which teaches decision-making and facilitates talks about drugs and gang activity in schools nationwide. 

One of the school resource officers is Josh Hale, who is an officer with Richmond police and is assigned to the middle schools. Hale is also a leader in RPD’s annual summer day camp.

When asked if more resource officers are needed in schools at the Coalition meeting, Hale responded, “it would definitely be helpful.” Hale is one of three, along with Bill Eckler and Whitney Maupin, who are tasked with being at roughly 19 Madison County schools.

While more officers in school would be ideal, the current shortages at both the Richmond and Berea police departments would make that difficult. The Berea Police Department won’t be at full strength for close to a year, according to Berea City Administrator Randy Stone, while the Richmond Police Department is well below their authorized strength after several resignations in recent months.

For over a decade, resource officers in school districts across the country have been spread too thin, often outnumbered by the students and overwhelmed by the number of schools they serve. While funding has sometimes been a factor, the abilities of many officers to carry out their duties comes down to managing their time as a community resource with many serving three or more schools. In 2014, a Colorado school district supplemented staff with safety and security personnel in efforts to relieve its busy school resource officers.

“(The SRO program) provides a valuable service to our community,” David Gilliam, Madison County Schools Chief Academic Officer, said in an email to The Richmond, Kentucky Register. “We have had an excellent relationship and partnership with the Richmond Police Department and Berea Police Department over the years, but most importantly, we have had the privilege of working with excellent police officers. Our SROs and our schools work closely with the Kentucky Center for School Safety to provide a safe environment for our students.”

Madison County Schools has school resource officers in both county high schools. The officers also serve the county’s five middle schools and work with the elementary schools when and if they are needed, according to Erin Stewart, community education director for Madison County Schools.

“The SRO is a great asset to creating a culture of safety throughout our school district,” Gilliam said. “An important role of the SRO is to build relationships with students and staff and often times the SRO is able to transform a situation into a positive learning experience.”

Jonathan Greene is the editor of The Richmond, Kentucky Register.