School Resource Officers

What is a School Resource Officer?

School Resource Officers (a.k.a. SROs) are uniformed police officers stationed inside our high schools with a direct connection to our local police departments. They are highly trained in school-based law enforcement, and their primary role is to provide a safe educational environment for the district’s high school students. This position is assigned by the local police departments, the Ramapo Police Department and Spring Valley Police Department.

Who are East Ramapo’s SROs and what do they do?

On patrol at Ramapo High School is Officer Christian Once, and Spring Valley High School is protected by Officer Quacy Evelyn.

Officers Once and Evelyn help foster a positive relationship with students and develop strategies to resolve problems that affect them. There is no one better suited to respond to school emergencies than our SROs, and we are grateful for their service and dedication to the community. East Ramapo’s SROs know our high schools inside and out. They know the students, the teachers, the staff and the buildings, through and through.

Are SROs in every East Ramapo school building in the district?

At this time, SROs are only assigned to East Ramapo’s high schools. However they can be called on to handle crisis situations in district middle and elementary schools, and have done so on multiple occasions.

What is the benefit of having an SRO in the district?

There are numerous benefits to having a uniformed police officer stationed inside each of our high schools. Besides being highly trained in school-based law enforcement and having a direct connection to our local police departments in case of a real emergency, SROs can help prevent student injuries and minimize property damage. They are focused on building healthy relationships with members of the school district to benefit individual students and the greater community.

Have there always been SROs in the district?

The Ramapo and Spring Valley police departments have been providing police safety measures and programs to the East Ramapo school community for decades. The School Resource Officers program was introduced in our schools more than 20 years ago.

Through the thirty year old Adopt-a-Cop program, East Ramapo students are able to foster relationships with our local police departments. About once a month, officers stop by to talk about police tactics, and share personal experiences as a way to foster a relationship between students, teachers, and police officers. The D.A.R.E. program is introduced to fifth grade students, and works with students to increase communication and reduce drug/alcohol abuse. The Ramapo Police Department also runs the Youth Academy, where twelfth graders learn about law enforcement issues such as police tactics, drug recognition, accident investigation, internet safety and more. Although it's currently on hold, the Ramapo Police Department also educates teenagers about the criminal justice system through a program called Youth Court, and students interested in law, law enforcement and the criminal justice system are welcome to participate. This impactful youth program will be offered again soon, so stay tuned!