In the late 1980's law enforcement officers and educators in New Jersey first partnered up in response to the "Uniform State Memorandum of Agreement between Education and Law Enforcement." Law enforcement representatives, at the invitation of educators, began to teach the D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Program in many of our state's elementary schools. Over the years we expanded upon the D.A.R.E. visitation and core lessons to now include programs for the middle and high school aged students. Another successful program that is growing throughout our state is the G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education and Training) Program.

In October 1998 the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office sponsored the first National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) certified training in New Jersey at the Somerset County Police Academy located on the campus of Raritan Valley Community College. Since that training, the SRO programs that have been developed by our municipal police departments and school districts have been a natural progression from the successes we have had with our D.A.R.E. program. The SRO program, like the D.A.R.E. program, is a collaborative effort between law enforcement and educators. The SRO program is being used nationally as a proactive school-based community policing strategy. In the United States each year over 200,000 violent crimes occurred on school property. Each year approximately 150,000 students stay home from school because of fear of violence. It is estimated that throughout the United States approximately 150,000 guns are brought to school each day. Generally, the SRO programs have been developed to better ensure our schools are safe and secure, to supplement the schools educational programs and to be another source of counseling for students and their parents. No doubt, the dramatic increase in the number of SRO programs is, in part, attributed to recent school violence such as Columbine and the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Many SRO programs were initially funded through the U.S. Department of Justice COPS (Community Oriented Policing Services) in Schools Program. Each officer is carefully selected by their respective police department or sheriff's department and most received their training from the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO). With the creation and development of the New Jersey Association of School Resource Officers (NJASRO), quality basic SRO training and in-service trainings will be available for educators and law enforcement throughout the state. This somewhat new community policing initiative is geared toward preventing crime both in school as well as in our communities, by educating and developing a positive rapport with our students. Secondly, the SRO's are to serve as a resource and a liaison to the educators and school administrators.

The primary role of the SRO has focused on what has been referred to as the "Triad Model"; which includes education, counseling and law enforcement. Positive interaction with students in school is one of the most important aspects of the SRO program. SRO's assist classroom teachers in supplementing and providing classroom instruction on a wide variety of law - related topics in order to promote a better understanding of our laws to help our students become better informed citizens. For example, SRO's lecture on drug and alcohol abuse in health classes to re-enforce what was taught in D.A.R.E. In Drivers Education classes SRO's teach about the New Jersey Motor Vehicle laws (N.J.S.A. Title 39) and general safe driving tips. In computer classes they may teach about Internet Safety. In Social Studies and Law classes the SRO's can provide instruction on New Jersey's Criminal Laws (N.J.S.A. Title 2C) and the reality of its consequences for violations. Even in Math class, some of the SRO's have provided for our Collision Analysis Reconstruction experts to teach about the practical uses of math in the investigation of serious and fatal motor vehicle crashes. Other educational programs are designed to reduce violence, avoid gang influences and involvement, and crime prevention techniques for students.

Another role of an SRO is to provide counseling to students and advice to parents. It is far more difficult today for a child to select an appropriate role model. The SROs serve as positive role models for students. One of the primary goals of the SRO program is to build a trust between the students and the SRO. Once that is established, the students confide in the SRO on a variety of issues they may not otherwise feel comfortable in speaking about with a teacher or their parents. SROs routinely deal with counseling students on matters ranging from poor driving to conflict resolution.

Finally, because SROs are law enforcement officers, they are always available to respond to crimes that occur in the school or on school property. SROs have contributed significantly to the safety of our schools and provide our students and their parents with a sense of security. Their presence in the schools and their marked police cars parked in the school's parking lot serve as a deterrent Having an SRO in the school has also resulted in more incidents being reported, sometimes even before the incident occurred, thereby affording the police the opportunity to prevent the incident. Also in their law enforcement role the SROs do obtain certain information regarding drugs, weapons and even interests developing in gangs, which they provide to others in law enforcement to use to better protect our children. However, if any emergency situations were to occur in our schools, the trained police officer serving as the SRO would be an immediate first responder.

Another benefit of an SRO is to be a resource for our schools' administrators. The SROs work with school principals and other staff on school based policing initiatives, revising emergency management plans, developing crime prevention strategies and serving as the schools' liaisons to the local police department, County Prosecutor's Office and County Probation Department.

The SRO program is becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of law enforcement. Especially now, more that ever, law enforcement as well as school officials have realized that merely responding to an incident at a school when called is no longer considered an effective means for the police to serve our students or educators. Our schools are located in our neighborhoods in our communities. During the week when parents and children leave their homes for work and school, our schools become one of the mostly densely populated areas within a community. Having some police presence in our schools, while in session, has become recognized as essential.

The School Resource Officer Program has proven to be one of the most valuable community policing programs ever implemented in Somerset County. As we finish another school year, each day our SROs and educators, albeit of significantly different professions, continue to successfully work together as partners throughout Somerset County with a common goal of ensuring a safe and secure learning environment for our children.