You’ll see them greeting students, participating in school activities, directing the school pickup line, and patrolling your local school. They build positive relationships with youth and stay current with the various topics and trends impacting students today while standing ready to respond to any threat.
School Resource Officers of Douglas County Sheriff’s Office are specially trained to work in the school environment, and soon there will be seven more Sheriff’s Office SROs for the schools within unincorporated Douglas County, not within a city or town. At 39 SROs, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office SRO unit is now the largest in Colorado.
During a regular Business Meeting April 9, the Board of Douglas County Commissioners approved $712,700 to share costs with schools for an additional seven School Resource Officers. The new officers will be assigned to elementary schools and high schools.
The Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers currently cover neighborhood, charter, and private schools in unincorporated Douglas County, including Chaparral High School, Douglas County High School, Highlands Ranch High School, Mountain Vista High School, Ponderosa High School, Rock Canyon High School, and ThunderRidge High School and their feeder middle and elementary schools. They also cover Valor Christian, Cherry Hills Christian School and Colorado Christian Academy, and Charter Schools, including SkyView Academy, STEM Highlands Ranch, American Academy Castle Pines, North Star Academy and Ben Franklin Academy.
“Our investment is the continuation of a commitment made by the Board of County Commissioners nearly five years ago, after the STEM School shooting, that we would continue to invest in school safety and availability of mental health services for all students,” said Douglas County Commissioner and Board Vice Chair Abe Laydon. We also committed to spend up to half of the needed funds to match the school’s funding for SROs – which we are excited and pleased to do.”
“Anything we can do to keep our kids safe, I’m all in favor of,” said Douglas County Commissioner and Board Chairman George Teal. “I believe in the SRO program as it supports ensuring the safety of our kids, one big reason why people want to live here.”
“This is a significant annual financial commitment by our Board and one I support wholeheartedly, said Douglas County Commissioner Lora Thomas. Our Board, past and present, has invested and will continue to invest in the safety of our students in this County’s neighborhood, charter, and private schools.”
“I am very proud of our School Resource Officer team, and I am grateful for the support of our community and Commissioners, whose trust empowers us to fulfill this crucial role effectively,” said Sheriff Darren Weekly. “The addition of seven dedicated School Resource Officers underscores our collective commitment to providing a secure learning environment for our students, faculty, and staff.”
“The Douglas County School District wants to express our sincere gratitude to the Douglas County Commissioners who voted unanimously to contribute additional funds to maximize the SROs we are able to hire with the passage of 5A,” said Erin Kane, Superintendent of the Douglas County School District. “We are so thankful for our law enforcement partnerships, including the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and for our community’s dedication to the safety of our schools, students, and staff.”
Each of the Sheriff’s Office School Resource Officers attend training sponsored by the National Association of School Resource Officers. They also attend refresher training sponsored by the Colorado Association of School Resource Officers, locally and nationally, to stay on the cutting edge of this field. Douglas County School District Special Education and Mental Health Directors also provide annual training to all SROs.
Read more about School Resource Officers on the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office webpage.