School Resource Officer

School Resource Officer Program

The Fernandina Beach Police Department and the Nassau County School Board have an obvious mutual interest in the safety and well-being of our youth. Our continuing partnership is highlighted by the School Resource Officer Program, which has been proven to be an effective method of developing lines of communication between students and parents, school administrators and law enforcement for almost two decades.

The goal of the SRO program is to provide for a safe environment on our school campuses as well as to provide crime prevention services to the school through planned programs of education, counseling, referral, investigation, patrol and surveillance, and apprehension where necessary.

The Program emphasis is on developing rapport with students, presenting information to students on various crime prevention subjects, and providing law enforcement resource assistance to school personnel, parents and students. The role of the School Resource Officer also includes identifying problems and providing counseling to divert youth from the criminal justice system whenever possible. School Resource Officers focus on establishing productive, pro-social relationships with the young people in our schools, which lends itself to the potential to build a lifetime of good citizenship and positive regard for the law and law enforcement personnel.