U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann and Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond
HCSO SRO Sergeant Paul Maupin, U.S. Congressman Chuck Fleischmann, Hamilton County Sheriff Jim Hammond, and Lieutenant Shaun Shepherd
HCSO Support Services Director, Gino Bennett, and Bob White, District Director, Congressman Fleischmann’s Office
A $750,000 federal grant will allow the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office to hire six more school resource officers for the county schools, Sheriff Jim Hammond and Congressman Chuck Fleischmann announced Wednesday.
The sheriff said that will bring the number of SROs in the county schools from 24 to 30.
The county will be required to make a 25-percent match to the grant, he said.
Sheriff Hammond said the county has continued to fund SROs after previous federal grants ran out, and he expects that trend to continue.
He said he would like to see an SRO in every county, while noting that Murfreesboro and several Tennessee counties have done so.
The training and hiring of the six new SROs will begin soon under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) grant from the U.S. Department of Justice.
Sheriff Hammond said, "This new grant will continue to support the HCSO’s efforts to improve the safety, development and mentorship of our young people in the Hamilton County Schools.
"SROs perform an invaluable service in our schools by helping to keep them safe and help to foster a positive relationship between local law enforcement and our community’s greatest asset, our children and young people.
"SROs function in many important roles within our public schools by teaching public safety classes and serving as positive role models and mentors for our children.The schools chosen to receive these new SROs have yet to be determined at this time. However, officials with the HCSO administration, HCSO SRO Division, and the HCDE will work together to see where these new SROs will be best utilized."