School Resource Officer

Schools Overseen

The Glenwood Springs Police Department currently has one officer assigned to the Glenwood Springs schools. Officer Jerry Alcorta is responsible for the following schools:

• Glenwood Springs Elementary
• Glenwood Springs High School
• Glenwood Springs Middle School
• Sopris Elementary Schools

Triad Approach Partnership

The work of the SRO in partnership with the Glenwood Springs schools is based on a triad approach. The officer works as a law enforcement officer, a law-related counselor, and a law-related education teacher.

Goals of the SRO Program

• Bridge the gap between officers and young people
• Increase positive attitudes towards law enforcement
• Promote respect for people and property
• Reduce juvenile delinquency by helping students formulate an awareness of rules, authority, and justice
• Teach the value of our legal system

Duties

As a Law Enforcement Officer, the SRO responds to all types of offenses on campus, takes reports, and makes arrests. The SRO assists the school with enforcing its school rules and takes on the responsibility of developing and maintaining a safe learning environment for all students and staff. The SRO is not a school disciplinarian, but often works with the school administration when a violation of school rules is also a violation of the law. The SRO believes that the safety of the students must be taken into consideration when responding to every situation.

As a law-related Counselor, the SRO specializes in law related issues, discusses reality and common sense issues, as well as family or relationship issues. The SRO can be involved in counseling students that have broken school rules, helping the students work on problem-solving skills, or just being someone for the students to be able to talk to. The SRO makes referrals to the school counselor or other agencies when dealing with more serious issues.

As a law-related Teacher, the SRO is a qualified and trained presenter in the classrooms. The SRO talks to the students about topics ranging from bike safety, stranger danger, to rape awareness, domestic violence, and traffic violations. The SRO also speaks on topics of drug awareness, substance abuse, violence reduction, and conflict resolution. The SRO best teaches by being a positive role model for the students.