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Cops in Schools was implemented in Fresno County in the Fall of 1999. This was facilitated through a grant from the Department of Justice "Community Oriented Policing Services". This program allows the Fresno County Sheriff's Office to place Deputies on the campuses of Fresno County Schools in an effort to deter crime, inform students about crime deterrents and to assist the members of the school staff in handling problem children.

The School Crisis

Recent headlines about violence in our schools are resulting in a surge of interest in school safety. Unfortunately, these headline-making crimes are not isolated incidents. Disorder, crime, and violence are problems in many schools. Urban, suburban, and rural areas alike report numerous incidents; some police departments report that one in four calls are responses to crime in and around schools.

  • According to the National Education Association: 100,000 children carry guns to school.160,000 children miss class every day because of the fear of physical harm; and 81 percent of teachers say they spend most of their time on undisciplined students.
  • The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 74% of middle schools and 77% of high schools reported one or more violent incidents in their school.
  • A recent Center for Disease Control survey reported that 20% of high school students carried weapons in the last month.
  • According to an U.S. Department of Education report, 3,930 students between the ages of 5 and 17 were expelled for bringing a gun to school during the 1997-98 academic school year.

How Can We Stop School Crime?

Many communities are discovering trained, sworn law enforcement officers assigned to schools make a difference. The presence of these officers provide schools with on-site security and a direct link to local law enforcement agencies.

Ronald Stephens, Director of the National School Safety Center, Malibu, Calif., notes, "As school violence transitions from fist fights to gun fights, there's a need to have a higher level of professionalism on campus."

Officers typically perform a variety of functions within the school. From teaching crime prevention and substance-abuse classes to monitoring troubled students to building respect for law enforcement among students, school-based officers combine the functions of law enforcement and education.

"When our children’s safety is at stake, we must take action — and we all must do our part."