Danville school police outline campus safety: SROs in every building, training and canine unit emphasized

Matt Oliphant, chief of the school police department for Danville Community School Corp, opened by introducing his office location and day-to-day responsibilities overseeing the district police and building security. "My office is at North Elementary, and I oversee the day to day operations of the police department along with security at North Elementary," he said, listing routine tasks such as door checks and lunchroom visits.

The presentation focused on the department’s staffing, training and school-based approach. Officer Corey Hill, the school resource officer at South Elementary and the department’s training coordinator, said he ensures the team meets Indiana Law Enforcement Academy training mandates and maintains training records for both police and district training. "I help make sure that we suffice all the Indiana law enforcement academy training mandates annually," Hill said.

Nick Weber, the school resource officer at Danville Middle School, described his school-level duties as building security and relationship-building with students and administrators. "My daily duties are building security, working with admin, and making strong connections with our students," Weber said.

Kim Kirachenko, school resource officer for Danville Community High School, outlined her role as canine handler to Zena and emphasized visibility in common areas. "I am canine handler to Zena... I like to focus on the most is being present in the hallways for our students and staff, being present at lunch and making connections," Kirachenko said.

Amy Nicholl, operations coordinator for Danville Community School Corp, described operational support including visitor management, camera monitoring, door security and custodial oversight. She highlighted the district’s coverage model: "1 of the things that I'm most proud of is the fact that we have a school resource officer in every building in our district," Nicholl said, noting that an officer is on-site throughout the instructional day.

Corey Hill framed the school-based police agency as a specialized career focused on educational settings rather than a temporary assignment. "The benefit of having a school based police agency is the fact that we are selectively chosen and trained to work primarily in educational settings," he said.

Chief Oliphant closed by restating the department’s stated goal: ensuring students and staff arrive at school, spend the day, and go home safely. The remarks were informational; no formal actions or votes were recorded during the presentation.