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Kentucky
statutes define a SRO as a sworn law enforcement
officer who has specialized training to work with
youth at a school site. Due to the availability of
federal grants through the
U. S. Department of Justice's
Community Oriented Policing program,
the number of officers in Kentucky has increased
significantly. There are approximately 230 SRO's in
over half of Kentucky's counties. A
biannual survey of the officers provides
important demographic information about the officers
and the duties they perform.
The Center
sponsors an
annual statewide conference
for SROs, building on the success of the first one
held in 2000. The two-day meeting includes workshops
that address issues that are important to the
officers and provides an opportunity for officers to
share ideas and learn about promising and effective
practices. Such as the success of Owensboro's
SRO program in combination with the Youth Crime
Watch. The Kentucky Center for School Safety has
produced a video which provides schools advice about
establishing an SRO program. The video, which
includes interviews with superintendents,
principals, teachers, students and law enforcement
personnel, can be obtained at no cost by calling the
Center’s toll free number.
Kentucky Revised Statute
158.441 requires
that the local law enforcement agency and schools
have a written contract. A
model SRO contract
has been developed and can be modified to meet the
needs of individual districts and agencies. You may
obtain a copy of this template from KCSS. The Center
also features
model SRO programs
across the state that can provide important advice
and information for new or fledgling program. The
Center has developed a set of standards for SRO
programs which can be used to assess the quality of
the programs.
In response
to a statutory requirement that SROs receive
specialized training, the Department of Criminal
Justice Training offered the first course designed
specifically for SROs in 2000. A 32-hour basic
course was provided the first year and an advanced
course was added in 2001. The
schedule of courses
is available on an annual basis. In addition, the
National Association of School
Resource Officers
provides training and sponsors an annual conference.
In 2002, SROs
voted to form a statewide association, and created
the
Kentucky Association of School
Resource Officers (KYASRO)
with a
Board of Directors
consisting of fifteen members to direct that
organization.
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