July 24, 2018  |  01:31 pm

The St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office is partnering with the St. Tammany Parish School Board to place a School Resource Officer in 25 public schools throughout the parish beginning on August 9 for the start of the 2018-2019 school year.

SROs provide law enforcement services to schools and school grounds. SROs are specially trained, commissioned, armed law enforcement officers who work in collaboration with schools to provide a safe learning environment. Additionally, they develop positive relationships with students and act as a law enforcement resource for students, parents, faculty and staff. 

There are a total of 55 public schools located throughout St. Tammany Parish and the STPSO will provide an SRO for 25 of those schools. The remaining 30 public school SRO positions will be staffed by the appropriate municipal police agencies. 

The majority of the initial funding for this program is being provided by the St. Tammany Parish Public School Board.  

 “The safety of our children and the security of our schools is of the utmost importance,” said Sheriff Randy Smith. “Our SROs will work closely with school administrators, faculty, staff and students to ensure a safe learning environment remains in place."