Harford Sheriff Requests Tweaks To School Resource Officer Bill

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler testified in Annapolis recently on a bill that would require armed school resource officers (SROs) in all schools across the state during regular school hours. The duties of the SROs would be to carry a firearm, conduct screenings at the entrance to the school, patrol school grounds, interact with students and participate in drills. In the event that a school system could not provide such an officer, the bill says Maryland State Police would provide one.

Gahler said he supported the bill but wanted to see several changes.

First, he said that it may not be practical for every school to have an SRO, particularly at the elementary school level.

Harford County has nine SROs, he said; there are seven in high schools and two in middle schools. Havre de Grace is the only jurisdiction in the county that has an SRO in every school, and its program is run through the municipal police department.

Adding SROs to all 31 elementary schools in Harford County would cost about $5.7 million for FY2019, he said.

"Although perhaps a reasonable long-term goal, from practical and fiscal perspectives, the addition of this many officers would be a challenge to fund, hire and staff for state and local government," Gahler stated.

He suggested that elementary schools could benefit from private security rather than SROs.

During a forum on school safety in February after the shootings in Parkland, Florida, Gahler said that training a deputy takes months, and there would need to be additional deputies hired to fill positions that SROs took.

"We don't have the staff to have an SRO in every school," Gahler said at the school safety forum, which was held at John Carroll School in Bel Air. "If that's the road we eventually go down, we have to add staff to my agency and several other agencies, and that cannot happen overnight."

The bill under consideration in Annapolis requiring SROs in all schools would take effect July 1, 2018.

In his testimony, Gahler also said he disagreed with the idea that the officer should be posted at the entrance to each school to conduct screenings.

"This is not a role for SROs," he said. "...being fixed to one location (a security checkpoint) does not allow the school to be proactively patrolled by the SRO. There is a distinct difference between security and a true School Resource Officer program." The unique role of the SRO hinges on developing relationships, he said.

Finally, he objected to the assignment of a state police officer to the schools and said: "School safety is a local policing issue."

Summarizing his remarks, Gahler said: "...I would suggest amendments to the language, inclusive of the assignment of an SRO to all public high schools and middle schools, modification of the language pertaining to staffing a fixed location by SROs, and removal of the State Police from the bill."

His testimony is posted in full below, as presented to the Judiciary Committee:

SB 1264
Support with Amendments

Jeffrey R. Gahler, Sheriff
Senate Bill 1264
Primary and Secondary Schools – Law Enforcement Presence

Letter of Support to the Senate Judiciary Committee
March 23rd 2018
______________________________________________________________________

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I am pleased to send this letter today to you in support of Senate Bill 1264. In short, Senate Bill 1264 would require an armed School Resource Officer (SRO) in every public school, for the officer to be on the property during regular school hours, to be present conducting screening at the school entrance and patrol the grounds, and should a local jurisdiction be unable to meet these requirement, that the Department of State Police must assign an officer to the school.

We all believe our schools should be safe places for our children and environments where learning is the primary concern. Many of us have children in the public school system and monitor current events closely. Although there is much in this bill that is valuable, there are aspects that I believe are inconsistent with practical application and I recommend amendments to support current best practices.

I am pleased to say the Harford County Sheriff's Office and Harford County Public Schools have a long history of collaboration on safety and security which began in earnest almost 20 years ago with the development of our Office’s SRO Program. Currently, the Harford County Sheriff's Office employs nine full-time sworn deputies as SROs. Harford County Sheriff's Office SROs are assigned to seven public high schools and two public middle schools which are located outside of the municipal areas of our County. The local governments provide SRO coverage to the schools within their jurisdictions. In light of the horrific incidents we have seen across this Country and in our own state, we are working with our County Executive on efforts to expand the SRO Program to additional schools in our community.

As a 32 year law enforcement executive, I am advocate for an armed SRO in our high schools and middle schools. In an ideal world, adding a SRO to elementary schools would be good, but private security could be just as effective here. An aspect of the SROs in middle schools and high schools has to do with the interaction between maturing young adults and these officers. These relationships and knowledge of the students themselves can often times allow for intervention through the SRO before escalation occurs. The concept for these officers to be unarmed is simply unconscionable in my opinion. An armed police officer is not only a strong known and visible deterrent, they are also the first level of defense and response should the worst case scenario occur as we just witnessed right here in St. Mary’s County.

As Sheriff, one of my Office’s Constitutional responsibilities is the security of our Circuit Court. As such, we staff multiple deputies at a controlled access point and require full screening to all visitors. This is not a role for SROs as it does not allow for those relationships described above and being fixed to one location (a security checkpoint) does not allow the school to be proactively patrolled by the SRO. There is a distinct difference between security and a true School Resource Officer program.

In Harford County there are 31 elementary schools without an assigned SRO. This number is inclusive of the towns of Bel Air and Aberdeen. In order to add police officers to all of these schools in Harford County alone would come at an additional cost of approximately $5.7 million for FY2019. Although perhaps a reasonable long term goal, from practical and fiscal perspectives, the addition of this many officers would be a challenge to fund, hire and staff for State and local government.

To summarize, I would suggest amendments to the language, inclusive of the assignment of an SRO to all public high schools and middle schools, modification of the language pertaining to staffing a fixed location by SROs, and removal of the State Police from the bill. School safety is a local policing issue.

As Sheriff of Harford County, I ask the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to report Senate Bill 1264 favorable with noted amendments.

Photo of Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler testifying in Annapolis courtesy of the Harford County Sheriff's Office.