By Scott Buttram, publisher
In response to the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. on Friday and to parent concerns locally, Trussville police and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department will have officers in all local schools until Christmas break.
Trussville police already provide school resource officers for Hewitt-Trussville Middle and High schools, but will expand police coverage beginning Monday.
“We will have an officer at the Paine schools all day this week, also,” Lt. Jeff Bridges of the Trussville police department said
.
Chief Deputy Randy Christian announced the county’s decision today and said the new security measures are set to begin Monday morning.
“In order to alleviate any fear and concerns for our Jefferson County School System families, the Sheriff’s Office will have a deputy stationed at every Jefferson County school throughout the coming week until the holiday break,” Christian said. ” Sheriff Mike Hale is committed to keeping communities and neighborhoods safe in Jefferson County.”
“Obviously everyone across the country will revisit security plans in light of what has taken place and with the knowledge that evil of this manner can occur anywhere and at anytime and certainly could happen here,” Christian said. “We understand the concern every parent is having in the aftermath and we wanted to insure during the coming week they could bring their children to school with full confidence and peace of mind, as well as alleviating concerns for school faculty and administrators.”
Christian said the holiday break will provide a much needed break from the tragedy that took place in Connecticut and offer the sheriff’s department an opportunity to assess school security going forward. Sheriff Hale must also balance the security needs within a budget that has seen major cuts as the county has faced the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.
“The two week break afterward is coming at a good time and will put some needed distance behind this unspeakable act,” Christian said. “There is no more important task now, or in the future, than protecting our young people, our most treasured resource. We are committed to that and will remain so. We can sustain it this week by shutting down some non-emergency responsibilities and using overtime where we have to. Moving forward, we will assess things and create the best possible plan our stretched resources will allow.”