(Beaver Dam) The Beaver Dam Police Department says recent events at two Wisconsin high schools have shown the importance of school resource officers. Last week, resources officers at schools in Waukesha and Oshkosh were forced to open fire on armed students.
Sergeant Jeremiah Johnson says a resource officer is a benefit to both the school and law enforcement. He says having law enforcement present day-to-day at school, it allows students to have a positive experience with police and gives them a chance to know each other better. Johnson says their responsibilities vary and can include anything from truancy to investigating any incident that happens on campus during school hours.
During last Friday’s Community Comment program, Johnson explained that the role of a school resource officer is changing. He says in the last 15-to-20 years, resource officers have needed to be more cognizant of the threats in the community that are spilling into the schools. He says there also has been more firearm and use of force training for resource officers.
