School safety, security, and violence prevention resource

And who said that school safety officers have it good? I really don’t think that their job is as easy as some people make it out to be. In fact, if you think about it, they probably have one of the toughest jobs in the country today.

On the one hand, they are tasked with the safety of school children on a daily basis. They are expected to act properly, be ever vigilant, and yet be “tender” with the students. On the other hand, they are seen as being dictators, corrupt, and unreliable by some people. So what is it really? I’d say that their job description is clear and that their job is important. While there might be a rotten apple or two in there, they are generally reliable and play a critical role in school safety.

Take what happened to this school safety officer in Omaha just today. An errant high school student allegedly stole a car. A school safety officer found the car in the school’s parking lot so she confronted the student who was accused of stealing it. What happened next could have very well been a freak accident but the student drove away and hit the school safety officer while doing so.

While she was not seriously hurt, I think that this kind of incident simply highlights the fact that school safety officers do not have it that easy. Even if they do have their own share of flaws and boo-boos, they deserve more respect from us.

Think about it, what is the school safety situation like these days? In some areas, it is practically a war zone out there! And school safety officers have to step into these “war zones” every single day of their work life.

Some of you might reason that it is their job. They are being paid to do this. They should not whine.

Then again, in this case at least, there is no whining to be heard. I am merely taking up for them because, after reading that story, I had an epiphany of sorts – school safety officers get too much flak and they do not get enough credit and appreciation. Perhaps a little more support from parents and the community as a whole will make them more efficient and effective? Who knows? A little thank you can go a long, long way – we all know that, don’t we?

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