Police Organization Praises Indiana’s SRO Programs
The National Association of School Resource Officers praised Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller this week for his support of funding and training for school-based police officers.
“Thanks in large part to the attorney general’s efforts, the state of Indiana last week approved 141 grant applications totaling more than $4 million for schools to create or expand school resource officer programs,” said D.J. Schoeff, a member of NASRO’s board of directors and a school resource officer (SRO) with the Carmel, Ind., Police Department. “We also congratulate Attorney General Zoeller for working to ensure that the grant program covers the specialized training that law enforcement officers need to be effective in school police work.”
NASRO offers a variety of training courses for school resource officers around the nation, including its “Basic SRO Course,” designed for any law enforcement officer who has two years or less experience working in an educational environment. The course emphasizes three main areas of instruction: functioning as a police officer in the school setting, working as a resource and problem solver and teaching school-age students.
“NASRO has provided SRO training to many Indiana law enforcement officers and is ready to train any officers who receive new school assignments, whether or not they are funded by the latest round of state grants,” Schoeff said. “We were pleased to be the only training organization mentioned in last week’s news release from the attorney general’s office.”
NASRO plans to offer its educational programs at the annual conference of the Indiana School Resource Officer’s Association, June 16–18, in Indianapolis. NASRO will also schedule additional classes in Indiana as requested by any agency that wishes to host the program.
For more information about attending or hosting a NASRO training program, contact NASRO Training Director Kerri Williamson, [email protected], 888-316-2776.