вЂњOur goal, year-round (is) we don't want to lose a student to anything.

The sheriffвЂ™s office always anticipates a spike in crime around June, Furlong said, between children getting out of school and summer events picking up. Heading into summer, the job wonвЂ™t get any easier. We donвЂ™t know, and thereвЂ™s no way of knowing, how many incidences have been prevented in the last year,вЂќ Furlong said. вЂњYou always, always want to be in front of the tsunami of a disaster. With just five or six SROs covering 10 schools and about 7,500 children, itвЂ™s impossible for them to be everywhere at once. ItвЂ™s part of the reason that SROs aim for crime prevention and building student trust. I don't know that I would expect a suspect to wait until Matt is ready and his gun is drawn before he's going to start.вЂќ вЂњMost incidents are going to be dealt with before the police ever arrive,вЂќ Furlong said. Furlong said that about four years ago, a student disarmed another student on the sidewalk outside of a school. ThatвЂ™s not the only time a civilian has responded to a threat before SROs arrived on-scene.

The SROs responded to the incident, secured the scene, and began the investigation. However, in February, when a CHS student brought a gun to school, it was a teacher who disarmed the student, not an SRO, district spokesman Dan Davis confirmed. The same month, they held a вЂњneutralizing the threatвЂќ training at Carson Middle School, coordinating with the fire department and emergency medical services. They also spent late nights in December 2021 preparing for the worst possible scenarios on вЂњschool shooting day,вЂќ promoted on the social media platform Tik Tok. Smith said SROs have overstaffed graduation ceremonies this month to create a clear law enforcement presence. Still, the more pressing goal of the SRO program is school safety. WeвЂ™re here to be that mentor, that coach, that person for them. вЂњTaking that law enforcement side of it away вЂ“ weвЂ™re human beings. The SROs still high five him in the hallway at CHS. The SROs went to the studentвЂ™s house to ensure his safety, and heвЂ™s alive and well today. One night, вЂњHe called our dispatch center saying he wanted to harm himself,вЂќ Smith said. A student at Carson High School who is in the foster care system grew close to several SROs. Smith had one particularly memorable interaction. It also helps the sheriffвЂ™s office engage with the issues that students face. He said that one goal of the program is to build trust with students so that they feel comfortable calling an SRO when they have a problem. вЂ¦ When we see (students) in the halls, weвЂ™re high fiving them. вЂњNo, itвЂ™s going to be a lot softer approach. вЂњYouвЂ™re not going to go in there with that overwhelming presence,вЂќ he said.

Matt Smith, the previous SRO supervisor, said that itвЂ™s not your typical law enforcement position. The SRO program began in 2015 and has grown to five deputies and a sergeant assigned to support Carson City schools. Though, he added, Carson City is better prepared than most communities to handle an active shooter situation, especially thanks to school resource officers. This was an over-the-top horrific event,вЂќ he told the Appeal. The horror of event has touched Carson City, Sheriff Ken Furlong said. Nineteen children and two teachers died in a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas on May 24.

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