What’s the Proper Role for SC Resource Officers?

 ROCK HILL, SC — The controversy surrounding a student who was forcefully removed from a class in Richland County, SC is calling into question the role resource officers play in our schools, and the training they receive.

South Carolina school districts, and the law enforcement agencies that partner with them, are examining their policies regarding SROs and their duties.

“Deputy Fields did not follow proper training, did not follow proper procedure, when he threw the student across the room,” said Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott at a press conference announcing the firing of Deputy Ben Fields. 

That training is coming under fire, as millions debate the actions of Deputy Fields.

South Carolina school resource officers are trained for school situations; for a role different from what officers encounter on the street.

“In a consultation role in some instances as to what type of discipline,” says Rock Hill Schools Communication Director Mychal Frost. “How a situation should be handled, or could be handled, and how certain situations can be prevented. That is going to vary across the state, by district.”

Rock Hill Schools has a resource officer on site at all middle and high schools, also serving nearby elementary schools. The SROs are provided by Rock Hill Police and the York County Sheriff’s Office, and they receive special training.

“There is a required training for sworn police officers to participate in with the South Carolina Police Academy,” says Frost. “It’s a two-week, intensive program where it helps them become acclimated to working in a school setting.”

Many are questioning the role resource officers are asked to play in our schools. Are they there to protect children and enforce the law? Or are they being asked to do more?

“When we have a child that’s not following the rules, our deputies are getting called in to handle that,” says Sheriff Lott. “And that’s not really our role in the school. And sometimes I think the teachers and the administrators should be handling things like this.”

South Carolina has a law making it illegal to interfere with or disturb in any way or in any place the students or teachers of any school in the state. Violation is a misdemeanor.