SROs sworn-in to keep schools safe

by Krystal Paco

Guam - Five new school resource recovery officers were sworn-in this morning. The law enforcement officers are assigned to each of the island's public high schools to help keep the peace and deter criminal activity.

Randall Yasuhiro is the SRO for Southern High School and says he's excited to start, noting, "The past three months we've gone through everything from our basic law enforcement classes, we've gone through advanced tactical training. One done on the job training with probation; we've had firsthand experience with students with both offenders and the normal school population."

The SRO program is a partnership between the island's Judiciary and the Department of Education. Reacting to recent controversy over whether the SROs should be armed on campus, Guam Education Board chairperson Francis Santos says it will be discussed at their next board meeting. Chief Justice F. Philip Carbullido said it was not up to him to decide the issue, but rather the GEB.

He said, "This is a great occasion obviously for DOE and the Judiciary in terms of implementing this program. We know it's needed - the obvious issue were dealing with is how do we deal with the firearms in the school issue, and as I stated earlier we will bring that before the board."

Aside from deterring criminal activity, the SRPs will also be teaching the law, and serve as a mentor for students.