School Resource Officers to once again patrol campuses

By Doug Spoon, Editor

Local law enforcement agencies will once again place School Resource Officers on area high school campuses after a two-year absence.

Perris Union High School District approved the action at its April 13 board meeting, and Menifee City Council last week approved the allocation of officers for the next school year. Menifee Police Department will dedicate one officer each to Paloma Valley and Heritage high schools, with the district and City splitting the cost.

Liberty High School will also have an SRO, but it will be provided by the Sheriff’s Department because the school is located outside the Menifee city limits.

PUHSD last had SROs on local campuses during the 2019-20 school year, before the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discussions about returning to the program had occurred regularly in recent months.

“The SRO will establish campus protocol [for behavioral enforcement],” said Menifee PD Captain Chris Karrar. “They will meet with the community, attend PTA meetings, and participate in district training. This is being done to ensure that our students are protected by our officers.”

The agreement is for the next five years.

“If we observe [inappropriate] behavior, we will be an immediate resource on campus,” Karrar said. “It’s more of a deterrent to eliminate negative behavior.”

Karrar said Menifee PD and the Sheriff’s Department would work together to back each other up if extra help is needed on any of the high school campuses.