School Resource Officers

The School Resource Officer Program places a Gulfport Police Department police officer in schools within the City of Gulfport. The School Resource Officer Program will be a joint effort of the Gulfport Police Department and the Gulfport & Harrison County School Districts to improve the quality of life and safety for their students. The responsibilities of a School Resource Officer (SRO) encompass three major components:

• Problem Solving
• Prevention
• Intervention

This is a pro-active approach to law enforcement through positive role modeling. These three  components allow the SRO to promote positive relations between youth and law enforcement, which in turn promotes school safety and deters juvenile delinquency. A particularly innovative aspect of the SRO Program is its use of veteran law enforcement officers as instructors. These officers, because of their street experience and the respect they typically receive from students, bring a credibility to drug prevention education and law related education that is unmatched by regular classroom teachers.

The SROs are liaisons between school staff and students helping to prevent juvenile delinquency, maintaining a secure environment on campus, and promoting a positive attitude toward law enforcement. They also teach students the role of law enforcement in society and inform students of their rights and responsibilities as citizens.

In addition, the SROs will present various safety programs including D.A.R.E., G.R.E.A.T., Eddie Eagle Gun Safety, Yellow Dyno Stranger Danger, Bike Safety.