NORTH CAROLINA, USA — The North Carolina Department of Public Safety ordered state law agencies to hold regular security checks at schools statewide through the end of the 2021-2022 school year, according to GCS officials.
The information was sent to parents with Guilford County Schools and shared with WFMY News 2.
Officials said agencies include Alcohol Law Enforcement, Community Corrections (Probation and Parole), Special Operations and Intelligence Unit, State Capitol Police and the State Highway Patrol.
State Capitol Police Chief Chip Hawley told News 2 that the checks consist of agencies going to schools in unmarked and marked cars to check on students.
"We want to make sure when they see one of those cars come through or they see one of those officers, those troopers, or that state capitol police officer, the ALE officer or probation parol officer they see that person and they feel comfortable enough and go 'hey you got a minute I want to tell you something,' So that's where we are going to make progress," said Hawley.
Guilford County Schools Superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras also provided a statement on the effort in an email.
"I want you to be aware that we may see armed plain clothes or uniformed officers in our school buildings or on our campuses as part of this state effort to provide a visible law enforcement presence," Guilford County Schools superintendent Dr. Sharon Contreras said in an email shared with WFMY News 2. “As always, we work closely with our local law enforcement officials, and we continue to make safety a priority in Guilford County Schools."
With the school year winding down Chief Hawley says there are plans in the works for increased safety measures for the next school year and summer months.
"We've done thousands, we've done a lot, ALE has done a lot, probation parole has done a tremendous amount so we are trying to participate from Murphy to Manteo. You can't fix this with one ride-by or one handshake. This is a continuous effort to keep schools and students safe," said Hawley.
Guilford County Sheriff Danny Rogers says commanders are instructed to have their officers frequently check in with elementary schools. Sheriff's office officials say these check-ins will also carry into the summer months and next year.
News 2 also reached out to other local schools and agencies about summer plans, and heard back from Alamance County Sheriff's Office.
Byron Tucker with the sheriff's office says schools out in the county that will provide summer programs will be fully staffed with SROs and will continue to be in the coming year.
In Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, Director of Communications and Media Chris Runge says school resource officers do provide security and patrol services during summer programs. Runge says the school system will continue to contract with the FCSO and the Kernersville Police Department for SRO services.
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