Best Use of Police in CCSD's Elementary Schools

Perhaps the Charleston County School Board should listen to the Police Department when it comes to safety in the city's elementary schools. After all, who's the expert here?

"Under the leadership of then-Chief Greg Mullen, the agency assigned 18 officers to a newly formed School Security Response Team. Working in geographic clusters across the city, those officers now provide security to 45 schools, including public elementary schools as well as private and charter schools that did not previously have officers."

"Rather than stay stationed at one school every day, the officers rotate constantly, in an unpredictable pattern meant to deter crime."

"Capt. Chito Walker, the department's West Patrol Division commander, said the SSRT approach has some advantages. It allows the department to protect all schools, not just the public ones. The officers on the team are highly trained in crisis response, stress inoculation and techniques that go beyond those of the average patrol officer. Perhaps most importantly, they're trained to work as a team."

The CCSD Board is simply grand-standing. Calls to do "something" about school shooters have beguiled them into pandering to pressure groups instead of following best practices.

Of course, outside of the city limits other concerns may prevail. Now CCSD will take on part of the cost already paid by residents of North Charleston and Mt. Pleasant. To what purpose?

Better to send resources to outlying and rural parts of the district where the tax base is lower.

Don't second-guess the police!