Did you know that our police department has had officers assigned to our schools since the early 70s? This was rare in the United States and PWC was one of the counties with the program.

In the early days, the officers were in the schools mostly as public relations officers.  They were to educate students on various criminal and traffic laws and show them that officers were approachable.

Officers were in classrooms providing this information and getting to know the students. Most of the officers were assigned to one high school and it’s “feeder” middle schools.

Over time, the duties of the officers changed to safety and enforcement and their was less of a concern on public relations. As of today, all middle and high schools in the county have a dedicated officer assigned specifically to that campus.

Now you know!

Information courtesy of Pat Finnigan, School Security Officer