Stewart Reverses Proposal to Cut School Resource Officers
The Newton, Conn., shooting that killed 20 children has led Chairman Corey Stewart to nix his proposal to reassign middle school officers to other beats. On Tuesday, he proposed adding additional officers.
Due to the December shootings at Newtown, Conn., Chairman Corey Stewart on Tuesday reversed his prior proposal to reassign several school resource officers, and said the county should instead consider hiring additional officers. In October, Stewart had suggested shifting four of the county's five middle school resource officers back to patrol. He said at the time that the move would save the county $520,000. Last month, a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, including 20 children aged six and seven. "I think in light of the tragedy in Newtown, Conn., it only makes sense to withdraw that proposal. In fact, I want to see if there might be ways to expand the SRO program, of course within our means," Stewart said at a …
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Jill Grissom
1:29 am on Friday, January 11, 2013
Manassas City Schools needs to put an SRO back in the elementary schools. It's not just a security issue. It's a connection between the schools and the police department, a relationship building/community building move, a chance for the children to see the police as someone who cares about them. I think it was short-sighted to have taken them out, and I think it's sad that it takes a tragedy like… more ›