Officers are Bringing Safety and Prevention to Our WV Schools
Sept. 19, 2008
Officers are Bringing Safety and Prevention to Our Schools
From The Governor’s Desk: A weekly column by Gov. Joe Manchin
Contact: Lara Ramsburg, 304-558-2000
Knowing that our children are as safe as possible while they are in the care of others is one of the most comforting feelings a person can have as a parent.В With the school year in full-swing, it most likely means that our young people are spending the majority of their day under the guidance and supervision of school personnel.В Student safety is one responsibility that our school officials must maintain each day in order to provide a quality learning environment.
Several of our state’s public schools have recently added a prevention resource officer to their school’s campus as an effective way to prevent crime and enhance school safety.В For the past month, I have had the pleasure of touring some of our schools to meet the new prevention resource officers while on duty.В Of the schools that I have visited thus far, I have been pleased to see the positive interaction among the officers, staff and students.В Having brief discussions with numerous school officials allowed me to determine that the extra authority figure and presence in their halls has been very beneficial.В Also, the students that I have chatted with during my school visits think the prevention officer will be another reliable source to go to for assistance.В
Our state has been nationally recognized for its Prevention Resource Officer program, which has been a cooperative effort between schools and law enforcement designed to put officers in schools to teach students about drug and safety issues and to recognize potential danger, prevent violence and respond to dangerous situations.
I believe that having prevention resource officers on our school campuses serves many purposes - from minimizing student-on-student conflict, to maintaining order around campus and deterring unauthorized individuals from entering our schools.В Also, prevention resource officers are professionals in their field, which will give them the opportunity to directly recruit young people who express an interest toward pursuing a future career in law enforcement.В
As a result of the hard work of our West Virginia State Police during a past investigation led by federal prosecutors, the state received funds that we have put toward the expansion of the Prevention Resource Officer program.В We will continue to build on this program so that more schools in every county of our state will have the opportunity to have a prevention officer on hand.
I have said that our best hope for reducing future drug use is to make sure our kids never get involved with drugs in the first place. I will continue to advance the plan for a drug-free West Virginia, which I feel, begins by strengthening prevention efforts in our schools.В
I look forward to visiting more schools over the next few weeks and meeting more of our state’s prevention resource officers, school staff and students.В