City of Topeka | School Resource Officer Program

Topeka's School Resource Officer (SRO) program was implemented in the 1994-1995 school year as part of the Topeka Police Department's focus on helping maintain a safe learning environment for students in the Topeka Public School District.

A Topeka Police Department School Resource Officer fills many different roles within their schools:

The SRO is a proactive law enforcement officer dealing with law related issues on campus.
The SRO provides students with a positive role model, and a balanced realistic view of law enforcement.
The SRO serves as an educational resource for students, teachers, administrators, and parents. The SRO goes into the classroom as a guest instructor to teach law-related topics.
The SRO is a member of the administrative team, assisting in solving problems and serving on the school's crisis management team.

The Topeka Police Department SRO's practice a "triad" concept within the schools. This concept has been widely accepted as the model for school based officers. The triad concept divides the SRO's responsibilities into three areas: Teacher, Counselor, and Law Enforcement Officer.

Teacher
The SRO is available as a guest instructor or as a resource to nearly every classroom within the school.

Topics instructed on are as follows:

Parental Alcohol Abuse
Crime Scene Investigation
Constitutional Law
First Amendment
Legal Consequences
Introduction to Police Patrol
Police Report writing
Juvenile Law Domestic Violence
Fourth Amendment
Computer Crimes
Child Abuse/Neglect
Criminal Law
Substance Abuse
Police Radar
Facts about Tobacco
Personal Safety
Sexual Harassment
Police Careers
Child Labor Laws
Accident Investigation
Driver's License

Counselor
The SRO is a resource for both faculty and students and provides informal counseling and/or advice. The Officers have received training regarding programs and services available to handle problems and conflicts. Getting the right kind of help to those in need is one of the SRO's highest priorities.

Law Enforcement Officer
Any law related issues that arises on campus is the SRO's responsibility. The SRO also works closely with the U.S.D. 501 Police Officers. In many ways the SRO's school is no different than any other patrol beat. Whether it is child abuse, truancy, disorderly conduct, theft, assaults or other violations of the law, the SRO is there to handle it quickly and professionally.