‘Good guys’ already have guns in Barrow County schools

One week after a mentally disturbed shooter took 26 lives at a Connecticut elementary school, the nation’s largest gun-rights lobby called for Congress to place armed police officers in every school.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Wayne LaPierre, vice president of the National Rifle Association at a Dec. 21 press conference.
But the students and staffs of Barrow County’s public schools don’t have to wait on an act of Congress to feel safe. Walking the halls of every school are school resource officers who not only are armed, but also have been trained in stopping an “active shooter” on school grounds.
“Our SROs are sworn law enforcement officers that by our policy are always armed when they are in the schools and working there,” said Sheriff Jud Smith. “We work alongside the board of education, the superintendent and the principals to ensure the children and youth of our county are safe while they are attending school and beyond.”
For the full story, see the Dec. 26 issue of the Barrow Journal.

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#1 Longtime on 12/28/12 at 09:19 AM [Reply]

Where are all those comments? Barrow Schools is ahead of the curve due to Partnerships with Winder Police and Barrow County Sheriffs Departments, SRO's are in place to secure our schools. They are doing something proactive, good, and it's crickets....

This an example where Barrow Schools and the Police agencies are both Serving the Citizens, and our kids(also citizens)...

#2 Parent on 12/28/12 at 08:24 PM [Reply]

Ask around Longtime, you will find she planned budget cuts with the number of SRO's in schools!

Not crickets, just not worth beating a dead horse.

#3 Zack on 12/29/12 at 07:47 AM [Reply]

If that's true, it's unfortunate that someone would put a budget price on our kids security. I spoke with a few Barrow County SRO's this past year and was very impressed with professionalism. The ones I spoke with were intelligent, fit, and kind officers. Along with that, it was clear they knew what they were doing. I certainly wouldn't want to test them. Sheriff Smith needs to be commended on those guys.

#4 anon on 12/29/12 at 09:07 AM [Reply]

I think it's great to have a resource office in every school... but is it really that way? I thought that the schools shared the SROs, so that there is not one present at every school at every moment of the day.

#4.1 Anon on 12/29/12 at 09:27 AM [Reply]

The elementary schools share SROs. Each middle school and high school has their own.....at least that is true for schools within the city limits of Winder. Not sure about the middle/high schools out in the county.

#4.1.1 Reality on 12/29/12 at 12:26 PM [Reply]

That's standard around the state.

#5 Not Reality on 12/29/12 at 01:58 PM [Reply]

Reality -

That is not standard around the state...It is up to the local system. Nothing is standard. Oconee uses no SRO's.

#5.1 Reality on 12/30/12 at 05:06 AM [Reply]

Actually it IS the standard. For those jurisdictions that deploy SROs, they have them in the Middle Schools and High Schools full time, and when one is needed at an elementary school, one from a nearby Middle School or High School will respond to handle the call. There are only a handful of counties that do not have SROs.

#5.2 gravy and bisquits on 01/14/13 at 02:47 AM [Reply]

shocking, none!! and you must be mistaken, why because only uniformed Police can deter mad folks armed with weapons!!!!!!!
the MERe sight of a UNIFORM with GunBelt immeddiatly stops the mentally ILL, laws we dont need no law! just more UNIFORMED STATE sponsored employees whose mere sight makes wrongdoers avoid the area!!!!!

#6 Reality on 12/30/12 at 06:44 AM [Reply]

Well Barrow County shares the SRO's between the middle schools and the elementary schools.

Ex If one is at Westside Middle School, they also look after Kennedy Elementary next door.

#7 Not Reality on 12/30/12 at 08:30 AM [Reply]

There is nothing standard about even your comment. "for those that deploy" and you follow up with "only a handful do not have"? The need for officers are based on where the local school board places them. Obviously, high schools and middle schools would be a priority.

You are providing the procedure for Barrow County, not the state.

This is a budget issue. A system as wealthy as Gwinnett could supply officers to every school if needed. The standard (you refer to) is based on the funds available, not what everyone else does, which would be considered the standard.

BCSS, which is in a non-spending budget, considered the idea of cutting SRO officers. She was not supported on the idea.

#7.1 longtime on 01/02/13 at 12:10 AM [Reply]

FYI: Gwinnett County Schools actually has it's OWN Police Department, it's own Agency... but it is also the largest school district in Georgia.
The Gwinnett County School Police office HQ is located at 52 Gwinnett Drive in Lawrenceville. Gwinnett Schools Police, have marked cars and has over 24 Officers and controls 50 additional "Safety & Security" personnel. They are also supported by Gwinnett County Police as well.
The Gwinnett County School Police Department maintains State of Georgia Law Enforcement Certification, a distinction currently held by only two public school system police agencies in the state.(Also the same certification that Winder PD & now Barrow SO has also attained)

#8 The actual reality on 12/31/12 at 07:41 AM [Reply]

It is standard practice for middle and high schools to recieve priority over elementary schools and that is the most common practice around the state. Now what you can't compare would be the budgeting practices of counties. Some agencies provide to the school system and some split cost and some schools have school police agencies. If you want to see standards and recommendations there are many seminars you can attend at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Glynn County Ga. Now to the actual topic our schools need to be safe but you can't mimic the department of corrections for the children. I think the best comment above discussing the guys in good shape and friendly is what we need along with that officer having access to a patrol rifle and the best offered active shooter training. Can anyone factually explain the budgetary process for our local resource officers? Obviously from some of the comments the BOE comps for them.

#9 ?????? on 12/31/12 at 03:55 PM [Reply]

I am only familiar with the SRO at Russell Middle, and she is fantastic. What concerns me is the "sharing" of SROs by the elementary schools. Certainly the Newtown tragedy illustrates the need for a full-time armed officer at each school. By the time an SRO could respond from a nearby school in the event of a crisis, so many lives could be lost. I'm thinking of the geography of our elementary schools. Some of them are out in the middle of nowhere it seems.

#10 Huh on 01/01/13 at 12:19 PM [Reply]

I hate to tell you, but even if there is an officer in the school, that officer cannot respond to the other side of the school in the even of a crisis in time to keep a murder from happening. We cant pay for armed police at every door.

#10.1 ?????? on 01/01/13 at 08:17 PM [Reply]

True-paying for an armed officer at every door is not realistic. There are a couple of ways to solve that problem though. One solution-only have one unlocked entrance to the school and post the armed officer there. If this is tough, and it is because sometimes these SROs need to be in court or in their offices consulting with students, why not have better security systems in place? How hard is it to lock ALL doors leading into the school, have an intercom/surveillance camera at the front door, and have the receptionist screen visitors? Actually, this would solve many problems and would not be that costly. (Hit the intercom to announce himself/herself, hold ID to the camera, receptionist buzzes in after looking up the parent. The receptionist is going to have to screen anyone checking out a child anyway and is already a paid staff member. This would provide a much higher level of safety for those in the school, and this would more than likely prevent unnecessary check-outs/check-ins which will result in higher scores (kids need to be at school). Parents aren't going to be as likely to come running for every little ailment, drama, etc. their child calls home for if they have to go through this process. However, if a child really needs to be checked-in or out, I'm sure no parent would mind the extra step to ensure student safety. Most check-ins/outs are repeat offenders and on a first name basis with the receptionist, so it really wouldn't be that inconvenient once the receptionist sees who it is. It's not a prison, but a safety measure. We can't have an armed bodyguard in each classroom, but we certainly can make some commonsense decisions to beef up security from intruders. Having an SRO at each school will help screen suspicious students as well. I really don't see why this would be difficult. The soft lockdown was a welcome change, and I didn't hear a single person object, not even those who had a significantly longer walk to get inside.

#11 sovrncitzn on 01/02/13 at 08:08 AM [Reply]

DEMAND A PLAN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJhWVf4e4-s

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‘Good guys’ already have guns in Barrow County schools

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