In the wake of the Newtown, Conn. school shootings, Greenville County Schools announced Thursday it will utilize off-duty law enforcement officers to patrol all county elementary schools and centers.
The patrols, utilizing personnel from the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office, Greenville Police Department and Mauldin Police Department, will begin Tuesday, January 22.
The off-duty officers, jointly funded by the school district and law enforcement, will patrol schools in defined geographic areas multiple times each day. During patrols, they will check both inside and outside school buildings, monitor school entrances, assess security procedures, and provide a visible law enforcement presence each school day.
The daily patrol schedule will vary so routines are not established. Plan specifics such as the number of officers are not being released to safeguard security, according to a release from the school district.
“While school remains one of the safest locations for young people, we must continually evaluate and enhance school security,” said Superintendent W. Burke Royster. “We have considered various approaches for additional security personnel and believe our students and staff are best protected by professional, highly trained personnel who can provide both a highly visible deterrent and a timely and appropriate response to any situation.”
The sole responsibility of the law enforcement officers conducting zoned patrols is protection of students and staff, the district said.
A police presence has typically been relegated to middle and high schools, and all county middle and high schools have at least one sworn School Resource Officer. But that all changed after the Newtown shootings, which resulted in the deaths of 20 students and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Increasingly, school districts here in SC and elsewhere are adding or contemplating adding armed officers or patrols at elementary schools. A Spartanburg County school district took that step earlier this month.
A bill also is before the SC General Assembly that would arm teachers and school employees.
This latest initiative is in addition to school resource officers in upper grades who provide a wide-range of law enforcement services including investigating crimes and building supportive relationships with students, the district said. At facilities included in the zoned patrols, law enforcement services such as investigation of crimes will continue to be provided by the appropriate law enforcement agency based on jurisdiction.
“We have a great working relationship with and respect for the local municipalities’ police departments, and without their cooperation, this initiative would not be possible,” Royster said in the press release. “For years, GCS and the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office have jointly funded a School Enforcement and Investigation Division, and it is through this already existing management framework that the security patrols will be coordinated.”
The district said the zoned security patrols are part of the school district’s "comprehensive approach to school safety" that includes ongoing security evaluations of each school, enhancements to building security based on those evaluations, regular lockdown and other safety drills, required visitor sign-in, secure school entries, video monitoring, telephones in classrooms, and additional safety training for school staffs.
The district has also established an email address (safeandsecure@greenville.k12.sc.us) and phone number (452-SAFE [7233]) to report security breaches or share ideas about enhancing the school district’s safety protocols.
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