Juvenile
The Juvenile Bureau of the South Kingstown Police Department works in conjunction with the School Resource Officers and school administrators and faculty to create a safe and healthy environment for our youth. The Juvenile Division works closely with the Family Court and other agencies and resources using multiple strategies to maximize our youths potential and minimize their risk of harm. It is the goal of the Juvenile Division to assist any youth in need so they can develop into healthy and productive members of society.
School Resource Officers (SRO)
The School Resource Officer Program is a nationally accepted program involving the placement of a full time law enforcement officer within the educational environment. In September of 2007, the Town of South Kingstown introduced its first SRO. This officer was placed within the South Kingstown High School. In 2015, a second SRO was added to work with the youth at the Town's two middle schools.
South Kingstown High School is a diverse educational setting comprised of about 1200 students and 150 Faculty, Staff, and Administration. The SROs serve the SK community by acting as a resource to students, parents, faculty, and the administration on a variety of issues. The SROs' role, defined by NASRO, is the TRIAD concept. The TRIAD concept defines the multi-role of the school resource officer. The South Kingstown SROs work as a Teacher, Informal Counselor, and Law Enforcement Officer.
Goals
One of the chief goals of the SRO program is to bridge the gap between police officers and young people, and increase positive attitudes toward law enforcement. Other important goals include but are not limited to: teaching the value of our legal system to students, promoting respect for people/property, taking a personal interest in students and their activities, teaching students how to avoid becoming a victim through self awareness and crime prevention, and the reduction of juvenile crime by helping students formulate an awareness of rules, authority and justice.