Student Resource Officers Improve School Safety

One of society’s most prized possessions is our youth because they are the future. The safety of our students means a lot, and school safety at the forefront of that discussion. There have been many security policies put in place to try and improve school safety, one of those being Student Resource Officers. A Student Resource officer is a “sworn officer assigned to a school on a long-term basis trained to perform three major roles: law enforcement officer, law-related counselor and law-related educator” ("The Role of an SOR."). Even though the role of the officer is designed to benefit the student’s safety, some feel that the amount of power that the officer possesses could be destructive. The officer’s power comes from their uniform, …show more content…
This is stated in The Gun-Free Schools Act that passed by the US Department of Education. The act prevents anyone from carrying a weapon to school, and says that he or she will face expulsion if they do (U.S. Department of Education). The measure helps prevent gun violence in school, but also prevents others from defending themselves if a person were to violate this rule and a school shooting were to occur. However, Student Resource Officers are police officers; therefore, they are allowed to carry a weapon. By employing these police officers in our schools, school administrations will be able to make sure there is someone on sight to defend the students if …show more content…
In the Sandy Hook shooting, a mentally unstable man named Adam Lanza shot his way through the the security system at the front door of Sandy Hook Elementary school. He proceeded to kill six teachers and twenty children. All of the children killed were between the ages of six and seven. Adam Lanza was mentally unstable and had it in him to kill six and seven year old innocent kids (“Connecticut Shootings Fast Facts”). These children were in Kindergarten and first grade, just beginning to learn how to read and write. They had the entire world ahead of them, but one person took that away from them and their families. Can you imagine being one of those parents when they first heard the tragic news that their six year old son or daughter had been shot and killed. After December 14th, those parents would never see their kids again. Would the outcome have been different if there was an armed police officer in the building during the time of the shooting? Sandy Hook had a security system at the front of their building; however, it did not stop the shooter. Having someone inside who is allowed and trained to carry a weapon could have saved those little children’s