School Resource Officer Deployment Plan

From MPD:
Updated School Resource Officer Deployment Plan

This week, Mayor Adrian Fenty, joined by Deputy Mayor for Education Victor Reinoso
and Chief of Police Cathy Lanier, introduced the District’s updated School Resource Officer (SRO) deployment plan. Under the new deployment plan, which will be rolled out over the next two weeks, SROs will support both DCPS and public charter schools.
“The updated SRO deployment plan is designed to support all District public schools,”
said Mayor Fenty. “My administration is committed to providing diverse and excellent
educational options for District students. Providing a safe learning environment is crucial to this commitment.”

In the District of Columbia, the key partners who work together to provide a safe and
secure environment in the schools are the school administrators, the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and any contractual security guards. The School Resource Officers (SROs)are MPD police officers with specialized training designed to enhance community policing with youth and schools. In addition to fulfilling their primary responsibilities as police officers to respond to any criminal incident, SROs:
»» Coordinate conflict mediations and response to conflicts that have happened or may
happen off school grounds;
»» Coordinate the Safe Passage Program to provide safe routes for youth to and from schools;
»» Provide more intensive support to at-risk youth, such as home visits to chronic truants; and
Provide more intensive support to at-risk youth, such as home visits to chronic truants; and
»» Visit and work with the schools that feed into middle and high schools.
“Although each charter school is responsible for meeting its basic security needs, SROs play an important role in supporting and mentoring public school students,” said Chief of Police Cathy Lanier. “This support not only enhances the immediate learning environment,it strengthens the community – police relations that are helping our city to grow and thrive.”

To meet the needs of all public schools in the District — DCPS as well as charter schools
— MPD has updated its SRO coverage plan. Similar to deployment in police districts, the size of and resources dedicated to each school will vary depending on need and workload. As in the police districts, deployment levels can change as needs change. The updated SRO deployment model will include the following:

»» Designated/Shared SROs: Schools and student populations with the greatest need for MPD support will be assigned one or more SROs. Of these, many schools are clustered together in close proximity, with multiple schools sharing facilities or being located within a block or two of each other. These schools may share SROs, who will travel between the schools throughout the day. In this initial roll out, 60 schools will be served by designated or shared SROs. This includes 34 DCPS sites and 26 charter schools.
»» Roving SROs: Roving SROs will be teamed in pairs to serve middle and high schools thatdo not have designated SROs. These teams will visit each school on their beat at least once a day to meet with the school administrators and respond to any concerns at the school.
Roving SROs will be a resource for coordinating Safe Passages, targeted student outreach, and programs. As with other SROs, these officers will coordinate conflict mediations if needed, and will lend support and provide information on resources for at-risk students.