KENT COUNTY, Mich. — A school resource officer is being credited for helping catch the 15-year-old teen murder suspect in the Oxford High School shooting.
We reached out to four school districts and three sheriff's offices in West Michigan to see if they have SROs.
List of Schools Contacted
- Grand Rapids Public Schools
- Grand Haven Area Public Schools
- Holland Schools
- Ottawa Area ISD
- Ottawa County Sheriff's Office
- Kent County Sheriff's Office
- Muskegon County Sheriff's Office
Not every agency responded in time for our report Thursday and some didn't respond at all, however, the ones that did say they either have sworn law enforcement officers or their own internal security officers.
Prior to working as a public information officer at the Kent County Sheriff's Office, Sgt. Eric Brunner spent one year as a school resource officer at Rockford Public Schools.
"My absolute favorite part was just the day-to-day interactions with the school staff and students," he said.
School Security
- The Kent County Sheriff's Office has 13 armed SROs in eleven districts who are able to move around the schools.
- Grand Rapids Public Schools has 47 unarmed, internal security officers when they are fully staffed.
- Ottawa County Sheriff's Office has SROs at every school district in the county; some have two SROs assigned. In addition, there are 11 SROs and other Community Policing Deputies who also frequent the schools.
Brunner said SROs can respond immediately to a threat.
"Having that enhanced security presence there for a school resource officer; they know the district. They know the buildings. they have access to the buildings. a lot are key card entry so they know the layout of the structure, they're like the local resident. And some districts have an awesome setup with their own security teams."
Brunner said in his opinion, having SROs in schools is very beneficial and they provide more than just security.
"They're going to be in a school building the next day and they can follow up and see how that student is doing and know their mood and they have access to those mental health professionals, to the school principal or counselors or teachers, coaches. They know who that student is and who other folks need to point them towards."
The Michigan House passed a more than $360 million public safety and police funding plan last week. One area that got more funding is school resource officers.
Mike Rohwer, Ottawa Area ISD Assistant Superintendent for Innovation, Information, Technology and Security released the following statement in response to our inquiry:
“Schools throughout the Ottawa area continually assess security measures. Each school shooting, especially one closer to home, certainly brings the possibility of a similar event happening into sharper focus. Without a doubt, all districts are at a heightened level of awareness and are reviewing their existing security and response protocols with their staff. Likewise, each district, the Ottawa Secure Schools Network, and our law enforcement partners will study and learn from the Oxford situation and then will make decisions on what effective changes should be considered. Security is multi-faceted and complex, so it is important to look at a constellation of factors and make continuous improvements in all areas.”
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