Welcome back, Class of 2016!  The Sacramento City Unified School District and the Sacramento Police Department look forward to a renewed partnership to help keep your children safe throughout the school year.  This past year, “adopt-a-school” was developed and implemented in the spirit of geographic policing to encourage a safe environment for kids and provide positive interaction between students, school staff, community members, and the police officers assigned to their neighborhoods.

The “adopt-a-school” program is comprised of two main components – regular school visits and school staff support. Patrol officers assigned to schools make routine visits, as time permits during their shifts. They visit during school lunch breaks, recesses, etc. to minimize disruption to the students’ curriculum. The primary purpose of these visits is to allow officers and students to interact in a positive environment and provide some guidance and mentoring if needed. Only those officers assigned to the schools make visits in order to provide consistency and trust-building between officers, students, and staff.  The second component of this program is to support student education and the efforts of school staff.  Presentations may be developed on topics such as bicycle safety, stranger danger, gang awareness, and drug free week to support educational staff.

“Building trust with our youth is the greatest investment for our future,” said Sacramento Police Chief Sam Somers Jr., “Community engagement programs like “adopt-a-school” are essential for fostering positive relationships with students, faculty and parents.”

This program is further enhanced by the department’s new two-year patrol plan which allows officers to become more familiar with specific neighborhoods, enabling them to take ownership of more projects within those neighborhoods. The two-year plan bolsters the officers’ ability to establish relationships and partnerships with schools, kids, and the community. Beat officers are assigned to and responsible for individual schools. Officers conduct periodic visits to schools and after-school programs to serve as mentors as well as provide presentations about the duties of law enforcement. They stress the importance of obtaining a good education, living healthy, staying drug free, and abstaining from violent and/or criminal behavior. The program not only addresses quality of life issues, but also helps bridge the gap between community members, kids, educators, and the police officers assigned to the area.

The patrol officers assigned to each school act as liaisons between the school and the community.  Ultimately, their presence is designed to enhance the positive impacts made every day by existing School Resource Officers.