The School Resource Officer program began in 1997 with Florence County Sheriffs Department. The School Resource Officer is a sworn deputy and functions as a liaison between the Sheriff’s Office, the school administration, the faculty, the student body, and the community. The SRO establish community resources and directories, providing information on topics ranging from date rape to drugs to students, parents, etc., as well as provides information on community services available to match the student’s and their family needs. The SRO deputy is responsible for responding to request from the community regarding truancy, drug activity, traffic problems, burglaries, thefts, and gang activity. As you can tell a SRO officer becomes the wearer of many hats, including the fundamental roles of law enforcement officer, law-related educator, and law-related counselor.

            Over the years the SRO program became very successful within the school districts and the community.   Florence County won a national award last year from NASRO for one of the best SRO programs in the country. Deputies are assigned throughout the schools in Florence County.