As you know, CVUSD has not renewed its contract with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department for school resource officers.

In my last article on this subject, I quoted school board members on their reasoning for canceling the school resource officers. Board member Galarza stated “I can’t think of a better image of a school-to-prison pipeline than having a sheriff in our schools”.

I spoke to a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Public Information Officer, deputy Vasquez, who responded to that comment by advising that the Sheriff’s Departments goal “ is not to bring criminal charges, that it is to be a positive influence, making the students aware of good decisions and bad and the consequences”. Vasquez stated that “we look at it (the resource officer) as both protection and mentor, to make the right impact on kids. It’s a place to interact in a positive way”. Two of those positive interactions is the Youth Accountability Program and the Explorers program. Deputy Vasquez went on to say that “the Sheriff’s Department does not implement discipline, it addresses crime, prevents crime and is a positive influence on the students”.

Let’s address some facts that obviously CVUSD does not care about: Recent school shootings lasted anywhere from 5-11 minutes. The average police response to an active shooter is anywhere from 4-11 minutes. Deputy Vasquez stated that the sheriff’s department’s response would be “a matter of minutes but would depend on the number of deputies assigned, and neighboring cities would be deployed as well”. However, deputy Vasquez went on to say that if a school resource officer was present, the response would be “almost instant, it’s a duty to preserve life”.

In 2018, there were 24 school shootings in which at least one person was killed, and 113 people were killed or injured. Are you paying attention CVUSD school board?

It’s obvious that having a school resource officer would drastically reduce if not eliminate the number of deaths if an active shooter situation were to occur.

Captain Misty Reynolds advised the school board that the sheriff’s department had responded to over 1,200 calls for service over the last two years. That’s with a resource officer present! That’s 600 per year and more than two per day. I’m almost afraid to see what that number becomes without a resource officer present!

Keeping the facts in mind, isn’t it a no-brainer to have a school resource officer present? Especially in schools that generate over 600 calls for service per year. Who wouldn’t do anything to keep their kids safe? The answer: the CVUSD school board members that voted against having a school resource officer.

Deputy Vasquez wants everyone to know that the sheriff’s department is still responding to calls and is available as a resource.