Photo provided School resource officers at BCSC and Flat Rock-Hawcreek schools include, left-right, Deputy Teancum Clark, Sgt. Julie Q. Smith, Officer Bernard Sims, Deputy Jessica Pendleton, Officer Eric Stevens, and Officer Eric Kapczynski.
The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) will present its Model SRO Agency Award to the joint school resource officer (SRO) unit of the Columbus Police Department and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, which serves the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp.
The award recognizes law enforcement agencies for exemplifying – in training, policies and standards – the NASRO triad concept (which describes an SRO’s role as an informal counselor, public safety educator and law enforcement officer) and for demonstrating creative and innovative approaches to school-based policing.
Officers being honored include four from the Columbus Police Department and two from the sheriff’s office (one at BCSC and one at Flat Rock-Hawcreek School Corp.).
Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and county officials recently approved an additional officer who will most likely start in the fall of 2025, bringing the total to seven. BCSC is also adding school security officers at Columbus North and Columbus East high schools as part of its safety protocols.
Sheriff Chris Lane said having a well trained and professional school resource officer staff is crucial to school safety, as the officers build relationships with students and interact with them every day.
“The school resource officers can see signs — they are trained to interact and help the students’ day go better,” he said. “If they see something out of character, they can address something before it becomes an issue.”
Lane also said that having school resource officers in a school system results in the SROs handling calls for service at the schools, instead of taking a police officer or sheriff deputy off patrols to handle calls.
Since the SROs are familiar with school operations, if there is an incident or something threatened, the SROs are already in tune with what is happening and better prepared to respond, he said.
“We are very proud of our school resource officers and all the work they’ve put in to make our program a ‘model SRO agency’,” said Columbus Police Chief Steve Norman. “Through our strong partnerships with the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corp. and Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Office, all of our SROs strive to provide a safe learning environment for students and staff. And even more, they are building strong relationships with students that will continue long past their school years.”
The Columbus/Bartholomew County SRO unit is one of seven law enforcement agencies from across the nation that will receive the 2025 Model SRO Agency Award.
NASRO will present the award on Monday, July 7, during a ceremony as part of its annual National School Safety Conference in Grapevine Texas, in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area. During the ceremony, NASRO will also present several other awards, including its Floyd Ledbetter National School Resource Officer of the Year Award.
