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Adams County board recognizes expansion of school resource officer program; sheriff praises relationships with students
Summary
The board presented awards to school resource officers and Sheriff Gutens described expanding the program from a single county officer to multiple officers across districts to improve response times and student relationships; the board said it supported the program unanimously when it began and praised the partnership with schools.
The Adams County Board recognized school resource officers at its June 9 meeting and heard remarks from Sheriff Gutens on the program’s expansion.
The chair introduced several local educators and said the county’s School Resource Officer (SRO) program was "the brainchild of Kent Snyder and Tony Gutens" and later expanded with county support. The chair described SROs as a liaison for younger students and a means to improve emergency response times across multiple districts.
Sheriff Gutens told the board the program’s expansion addressed gaps in coverage when one SRO had to cover the entire county: "When I took office... we had one SRO for the entire county. ... we sat down with the public safety committee and then the board members and you guys were unanimous in supporting this project." He added that officers build relationships with students: "These guys go out there to the schools. They're not just a cop. They they form relationships with these kids." Gutens also said the county will likely need to modify and add to the program as needs evolve.
The board thanked the sheriff and the participating educators. The presentation was recognition and status reporting; no new funding request or policy change for the SRO program was made on the record.
