It’s About Safety and Relationships
Recently, I had an interesting conversation about School Resource Officers (SROs) with Lt. John Condon of the Irvine Police Department. Lt. Condon began by saying that the main contribution of SROs to the schools is to assist the teachers, administration and students in maintaining a safe learning environment.
These SROs are full-fledged Irvine police officers. In addition to traditional ways of keeping the schools safe, they build relationships with individual students, help meet their needs, and often prevent serious problems. In fact, Lt. Condon stated, “Nurturing relationships is the majority of the work that School Resource Officers do.”
Our elementary schools do not have School Resource Officers, but the award-winning DARE program is an important part of what Irvine Police officers bring to these schools. Middle school is a tough age for our children, and the SRO program is helpful to them, too.
My conversation with Lt. Condon ended with a mini-reunion between him and my husband, John Inmon, who was a founding IUSD principal who opened College Park Elementary. “We opened College Park Elementary together and I was in the first grade,” Condon said.
We are so fortunate in Irvine to have such outstanding residents who grew up in Irvine and are still here contributing to our City. Thank you, Lt. John Condon, and thank you School Resource Officers.
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