Mackney press release:
When I announced my candidacy on March 10th, I stated that
as the weeks progressed, I would outline the rest of my campaign platform and
my thoughts on how to make Allegany County a better and safer place for all of
our citizens. I would like to expand on some of that now.
One of the things that I have been talking about is putting
SRO's (School Resource Officers) back in our schools. Quite honestly I can’t
figure out why this issue hasn’t been addressed in the past. The recent tragic
events in Parkland, Florida, the heroic actions of Deputy Blaine Gaskill in
Great Mills, Maryland and Officer Mark Dallas in Dixon, Illinois have brought
this topic to the forefront again and again.
My answer is a simple and economic one. We hire retired
police officers to work as School Resource Officers. For a cost of about
$30,000 per school, you would have a trained, experienced police officer who
would provide an increased level of safety and security to the school. This
officer would be more than a security guard. He or she would also be able to
provide education to the students on drug abuse (an even greater killer of our
children), and such things as the dangers of distracted and drunk driving. The
officer would also serve as an unofficial mentor and counselor and might be
able to identify problem areas before they got out of hand.
Let’s take a look at this in depth. The retired officer
(Municipal Officer, Deputy Sheriff or State Trooper) could be hired through the
Sheriff’s Office after being properly vetted and interviewed. Unless of course
there is an existing police agency in the community. Cuba PD, for example,
currently has an SRO working in their schools. The Sheriff’s Office would
provide any necessary training. The school would provide the salary, initial
outlay of uniforms and equipment, working space and possibly other items such
as a laptop computer and if needed for work, a cell phone at an initial cost to
the school of about $5,000. There would be no need for benefits and extra costs
such as contributions to the retirement system or health insurance.
Of course this would all have to be worked out with the school,
county and union officials.
What you get for that is an experienced police officer who
is at the school five days a week during the school year. As members of the local
community they already have a vested interest in the school and may have had
family members as former or current students. When you hire a new police
officer, you’re looking at them for what they might do. When you hire an
experienced police officer, you’re looking at them for what they’ve already
done. Combine that with proper supervision and you’ve got a winning formula.
This is not a new concept and I certainly wouldn’t take credit for the idea.
Steuben County has had this very same practice in place for about 5 years and
it is working great.
The increase in school taxes to cover the cost would be
negligible and, with some of the new bills being put forth by people such as
State Senator Pat Gallivan, might even be totally reimbursed by the state. Even
if the state didn’t reimburse, I doubt that many residents would think the cost
too high. After all, what is the value of even one of our children?
The bottom line is - What are we waiting for? Why are we
waiting for legislation to be passed? Schools across the county are having
meetings on this very topic now. Go to these meetings and voice your concerns.
The safety of our children is not the job of the politicians. It’s ours.
