Nearly two dozen school resource officers are training in Tulsa this week.
Tulsa County Undersheriff George Brown said whether they work in public or private schools, agencies are asking a lot of school resource officers nowadays.
"They have to be effective communicators. They have to be good mentors and examples for the young children that they work with," Brown said. "They have to be part medic and part communicator and part police officer."
In all, 21 officers from across Oklahoma and from as far away as Springdale, Arkansas, are here this week for the National Association of School Resource Officers course hosted by the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office at Tulsa Tech's Owasso campus.
"With all the nasty things that have happened in years past with school tragedies — Columbine, Virginia Tech — we just think that the school resource officer is that first line of defense," Brown said.
Besides learning about drug trends, sex trafficking and how to prevent crime and violence in schools, the officers are learning about social media, diversity, and how to be counselors and mentors. Brown said school resource officers can be important figures in some kids’ lives.
"Some of these students are underprivileged. Some of these students deal with home life tragedies like divorce and situations that are tough for a kid, and that kid won't go to anybody, sometimes, other than a school resource officer," Brown said.
