School Resource Officer

The Blue Earth County Sheriff’s Office has a dedicated deputy position assigned to School Resource Officer (SRO) at St. Clair School.  Crime and violence in the schools continues to be a concern to parents, students, educators, and the general public. The SRO program has been an opportunity for the Sheriff’s Office to build relationships with our youth, and the community of St. Clair as a whole.

The role of a SRO can range from one school to the next.  Obviously as a small, rural school district, the duties and responsibilities of the position is are much different from those of a larger, urban or inner-city school district.  In Blue Earth County, we focus on conducting prevention and intervention activities for the purpose of keeping the building secure and the students safe, both inside and out of school.

The SRO works side-by-side with the school administration team, responding to behavioral issues, at-risk students, and continually reviewing and revising the crisis prevention and response plans.  They help monitor the flow of traffic around the school building at busy times of the day, which brings a measure of added safety to motorists, passengers and pedestrians.

The D.A.R.E. program was brought back to St. Clair School, in both 5th and 8th grades.  The goal of adding the DARE program is to build healthy relationships and provide useful prevention strategies for students, parents and educators.  The powerful bonds translate into positive decisions making skills which in turn provide a safer school and community.

The SRO position coordinates the school safety committee comprised of members of all Blue Earth County Schools.  The goal of this committee is to ensure the crisis and prevention plans are in place at each school in Blue Earth County, with the exception of Mankato ISD 77.  Annual training is conducted for law enforcement officers throughout the county as well as communities surrounding Blue Earth County.