(L-R, Officer Shannon Young, Officer Joseph Torre, Officer Robert Long)

School Resource Officers (S.R.O.’s)

Currently, an estimated one third of all sheriffs’ offices and almost half of all police departments assign nearly 17,000 sworn officers to serve in schools.  Nearly half of all public schools have police officers assigned.   (Center for Problem Oriented Policing).  

The Pen Argyl School District has three schools within the jurisdiction of the Slate Belt Regional Police Department.  Two of these schools, Plainfield Elementary School and Wind Gap Middle School, are located in Plainfield Township.  Pen Argyl High School is located in Pen Argyl Borough.  Currently, over 1,600 students attend these schools. 

Each September, three dedicated School Resource Officers are assigned to our schools, providing a permanent presence to protect our children.   Since 2018, the department partnered with the District to provide ALICE (Active Shooter) training to all school personnel and students. 

Some of the daily duties of the S.R.O.’s are:

Interior and Exterior Patrols

Handling calls for service inside the schools

Making arrests

Active Shooter / Unwanted Persons Planning and Drills

Emergency Drills / ALICE Training – Drill Planning

Assist in Evacuation / Lockdown Drills

Update / Draft School maps and Emergency Contact Lists

Security Evaluations / Assessments of buildings

Meeting with / Conduit between Department and Juvenile Agencies

Liaison between Department and District regarding police related activities

The following list provides examples of general duties and responsibilities that officers may carry out when assigned to our schools:

To protect lives and property for the citizens and public school students.

To enforce Federal, State and Local criminal laws and ordinances.

To investigate criminal activity committed on or adjacent to school property.

To counsel public school students in special situations, such as students suspected of engaging in criminal misconduct, when requested by the principal or the principal's designee or by the parents of the student.

To answer questions that students may have about criminal or juvenile law.

To assist other law enforcement officers with outside investigations concerning students attending the school(s) to which the SRO is assigned.

To prevent juvenile delinquency through close contact with students and school personnel.

To establish liaison with school principals, faculty, and students.       

To provide liaison between students and social agencies which provide needed services.