Ë®¹ûÅÉAV

APD Sgt. Greg Dann, who administers the SRO program, and Officer Chris Major, who is assigned to Auburn High School, updated the council on how the 2018-19 school year went along with new initiatives and challenges in the current school year.

Last school year, officers within the district responded to 1,116 incidents, which included but was not limited to drugs, weapons, harassment, fighting and disorderly behavior, bullying, mental health investigations or disciplinary and parent meetings, Dann said.

That was approximately 200 fewer incidents than the 2017-18 school year, Dann said, adding that officers on average respond to between 1,000 to 1,500 incidents most years.

The department averages between 20 to 25 arrests per school year, with 20 arrests this year. Of those arrests, eight were made against adults and 12 against juveniles.

Dann stressed, however, that the safety and security of the students, as well as mentoring them, is the primary focus for SROs, not arrests.

"Our job is to mentor the kids and help them make good decisions and choices," Dann said.

Councilor Jimmy Giannettino said an important part of the program is the way it fosters positive relationships between children and law enforcement, something he said he's seen bear fruit while riding along with police.

Several of the big changes to the program this year revolve around technology, according to Major. The new Raptor Visitor Management System was implemented at the high school, Junior High and Casey Park Elementary School this year, and will be expanded to the rest of the district by the end of the next school year.

That system scans visitors' identification to check for active warrants, orders of protection, sex offender status, or custom alerts. If any of the criteria are flagged, both district staff and the SROs are automatically notified.

The district now also has approximately 250 security cameras across all of its schools.

New technology has also brought new challenges, Major said. One of the biggest difficulties for officers, he said, is keeping up with the constantly changing social media platforms used by students, which can vary between grades.

"That's probably our number one obstacle," Major said.

Councilor Dia Carabajal thanked the officers, saying that providing for the safety and security of its children is one of the most important things a community can do.