The School Resource Officer (SRO) program is a problem-solving approach to reducing crime by assigning a specially trained officer to the schools in the district to establish an ongoing rapport with students, staff and parents. Sand Springs Police Department works collaboratively with Sand Springs School District to provide a safe learning environment for all students and staff.  

The program is the result of a partnership between Sand Springs Police Department and the Sand Springs School District. It has three basic goals: 

• To provide a safe learning environment and help reduce school violence. 
• To improve school/law enforcement collaboration 
• To improve perceptions and relations between students, staff, and law enforcement officials. 

The School Resource Officer (SRO) fulfill three roles as a part of their job: Teaching, Informal Counseling, and Law Enforcement. 

They teach, counsel, and enforce around issues related to internet safety, drug/alcohol awareness, welfare checks, child abuse, and response to school violence training, assessing student threat/risk behavior, providing victim assistance/referrals, and conducting facility assessments/safety recommendations. Having an officer on-site also allows for rapid response in case of any violent event. The SRO will also assist and help coordinate services such as Family Outreach, Juvenile Recovery Court, Mediation, Deferments, and Juvenile Justice System. 

Besides working with individual students, SROs are committed to the community policing concepts regarding their schools and surrounding neighborhoods. Officers have successfully worked on traffic issues, noise and litter complaints, drug sales, and safety in nearby parks and business areas. They have found that most problems can be solved or minimized by establishing partnerships with students, staff, families, and other members of the community. 

For more information about the School Resource Officer Program, call (918) 245-8777 or e-mail sro@sandspringsok.org.