The Hamilton County school board was right Thursday to opt for hiring up to 10 of its own security officers for some campuses – despite reservations from the sheriff, who said he would rather see the district arm teachers or school staff members.
Consider the reason this is necessary: The county sheriff’s department has been unable – despite the money being budgeted – to hire enough officers. That’s officers of any kind. The department is 60 people short. And it has especially struggled with school resource officer staffing.
It’s not from lack of Sheriff Jim Hammond’s trying. Nor is his department alone. Despite what we’re sure has been yeomens’ efforts to vet and train and oversee good officers, local law enforcement leaders are clearly having a hard time balancing recruiting with resources and availability.
In addition to vacancies, just consider the number of officers (well over a half dozen) to be fired or disciplined in the past year for egregious reasons – from violation of human rights to kidnapping to rape.
Though bad-apple officers were never specifically discussed publicly in Thursday night’s Board of Education meeting – nor should they have been – it is a given that putting armed security officers in schools with our children carries a much higher threshold than vetting them to patrol our streets.