Chelan County Sheriff's School Resource Officers. Photo courtesy: Chelan County Sheriff's Office.
Three school student safety incidents occurred in the past week. Two in the Moses Lake School District.
Chelan County Sheriff Mike Morrison said the agencies' School Resource Officers play a highly important role. He said from his own experience, "I saw some real change in the students when I was coaching basketball and also coaching track. When they see you out of uniform, (they see) you're a normal individual just like them and they get the opportunity to play basketball with you, run with you."
"We've got great SRO's out there," said the Sheriff. "I know that Deputy Mutch, Deputy Hunter and Deputy Bushy, are probably the best people we could have put in those positions, and they're really demonstrating what we wanted to get out of the program which is to connect and establish relationships and ensure a safe educational environment."
In addition, the school based officers free up time for other deputies to focus on other needs.
"We know the primary function is for patrol (deputies) to meet the needs of the community, and we also have support units like traffic enforcement, SROs, forest service, supporting them," Sheriff Morrison added.
The Chelan County Sheriff's Office posted on social media:
We are pleased to announce the renewal of our School Resource Officer (SRO) contracts with Chelan, Cashmere and Cascade school districts ensuring continued partnership with all three through the 2024-2025 school year.
These collaborations underscore the vital role of our SRO’s who strive to fulfill their roles as informal counselor/mentor, educator and law enforcement deputy when appropriate. We extend our heartfelt thanks to all three districts and the communities we serve for their unwavering support and commitment to this essential partnership.
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