|
NJASRO Praises
NJ Legislature
for New Training
Development of Statewide Training
Courses
and Curriculum to Make NJ Schools Safer
Police and Law Enforcement News
Thursday, April 6, 2006 9:21 a.m.
TRENTON -
The New Jersey Association of School Resource
Officers (NJASRO), the state’s leading
organization
of school resource and school safety officials, met with NJ Senate
President Richard Codey to applaud the New Jersey State Legislature
for passing the Safe Schools
Resource Officer Training Law, and offer their support in
its implementation. The law requires
the Police Training Commission, in consultation with the Attorney
General, to develop and offer training courses for all new school
resource officers and school liaisons to law enforcement in New
Jersey. The courses will provide comprehensive and consistent
training in current school resource officer practices and concepts.
“New
Jersey’s most valuable resource is its children,” said John Morella,
NJASRO President. “This bill will further provide valuable training
to officers on how to teach and protect our students. We applaud the
outstanding work the legislature has done to make schools safer, and
offer our support to the Police Training Commission and the Attorney
General’s office to develop an effective training program for future
safe school resource officers and school liaisons across New
Jersey.”
The law was authored and introduced
by Assemblywoman Joan Voss of Bergen County in the Assembly, and
sponsored by Sen. Fred Madden in the Senate. The bill passed the
Assembly 74-2 and the Senate 38-0 and was signed into law by Sen.
Codey while he served as Acting Governor on Jan. 6.
“By
virtue of their daily interaction with pupils, school resource
officers invariably make a strong, early impression of the
institution of law enforcement,” said Assemblywomen Voss, a former
teacher at Fort Lee High School. “The job of a school resource
officer involves great responsibility and highly specialized skills;
and the State should provide comprehensive and consistent training
for those individuals entrusted with these responsibilities.”
School resource officers are
police officers permanently assigned to a school or set of schools
to serve as a law enforcement officer, law-related counselor and
law-related education teacher. In addition to regular law
enforcement duties, a safe schools resource officer might be
assigned to help educate pupils on their rights and responsibilities
under the law, to serve as a liaison between law enforcement and a
principal in investigating criminal law violations occurring in a
school or on school property, to serve as a liaison between students
and social service agencies, to assist school administration and
faculty in developing criminal justice programs, and to assist with
school activities.
Sen. Madden added, “The development
of a training course for safe schools resource officers and public
school liaisons to law enforcement ensures that our schools can
continue providing a secure environment for children and staff.”
About NJASRO:
The New Jersey Association of
School Resource Officers (N.J.A.S.R.O.) is a not-for-profit
organization for school based law enforcement officers, school
administrators, and school security/safety professionals working as
partners to protect students, school faculty and staff and the
schools they attend. The true and tested strength in the School
Resource Officer program is that it is much more than a curriculum.
The SRO Concept can easily be adapted to the needs of ANY community,
desiring safe schools, and effective community partnerships.
N.J.A.S.R.O. is a Chartered Member of the National Association of
School Resource Officers (N.A.S.R.O). For more information go to
www.NJASRO.com
Police and Law Enforcement News
Thursday, April 6, 2006 9:21 a.m. |
