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Brief History of SRO's

History of School Resource Officer Program
Prior to the 1950's, the concept of a "School Resource Officer" was not widely heard of. Most educational interaction between school and local law enforcement was done on an informal basis and by request. Such topics as bicycle safety, child molesters, and traffic safety were common.
The First School Resource Officer Program
In the late 1950's, the first SRO program was started in Flint, Michigan. Its’ overall goal was to improve the relationship between local police and youth. Officers were placed in schools on a full time basis for the first time ever. They served as teachers and counselors. A survey given at that time allowed for a look at the attitudes youth had about law enforcement.
The program was determined to be a huge success and Flint, Michigan became a model for future school resource officer programs across the country. Positive evaluations have kept the program in place for over 40 years.

Expansion and Other Successful SRO Programs
1963: Tucson, Arizona
Officers were assigned to Junior High Schools. Their primary goal was to improve the relationship between police and juveniles. The success of the program prompted expansion into local high schools.
1966: Siginaw, Michigan
This program differed from others in the matter that resources did not allow them to assign just one school to the SRO. Two officers were in charge of covering all the schools in the city; two high schools, five junior high schools, and twenty seven elementary. The program quickly realized the diminishing effects of spreading their officers so thin and the changes in attitudes towards law enforcement were not as noticeable as in other communities.
1967: Cincinnati, Ohio
Classroom contact was the primary goal. Although the program followed the now generally accepted "Triad" approach to SRO policing, the Cincinnati officers minimized their law enforcement activities, except in emergency situations. A study conducted in 1969 showed the program was a success and the attitudes towards law enforcement had improved.
1968: Los Angeles
This program combined the efforts of the local police and Sheriff's department. Officers and the Deputies were assigned to junior high schools on a full time basis. They assumed the role of an informal counselor and became a resource for parents, students and staff. Again, the role of the law enforcement officer was not as prevalent as in today in most SRO programs, but evolutions showed the program was successful and it expanded to include high schools.
1968: Tulare, California
One officer was assigned to cover two junior high schools. Duties were to patrol campus, prevent crimes, teach law related education and counsel students, and spent a large portion of their time as disciplinarians. Thus, a change in attitudes towards law enforcement was minimal. Evaluations though did show a large decrease in juvenile crime and arrest rates decreased by 52% in two years. The California Youth Authority wrote the program was very positive and needed to expand to cover the high schools.
1969: Miami, Florida
The Miami Police Department started their first program during the 1969-70 school year. A large impetus was Chief Bernard Garmire who came from Tucson, Arizona where the SRO program had long been in place. The program soon expanded from Miami to the remainder of Dade County. Evaluations showed the program to be effective at strengthening the relationship between youth and law enforcement.
1972: Orlando, Florida
The Orlando Police Department started a pilot program in 1972. Officers were placed full time in two junior high schools. Evaluations also showed the program to be effective in reducing crime and improving the attitudes towards law enforcement. The program was soon expanded to all Orange County junior and high schools.
1974: Fresno CA
The Fresno Police Department revamped its organization to include a Juvenile Bureau and reassigned its seven SROs to high schools as "juvenile detectives," whose job it was to follow up on crimes that either occurred on school property or involved a student. Although the SROs were present in the school, patrol officers answered most distress calls.
1975: Hillsborough County, Florida
Officers serving as teachers, counselors, and law enforcement were placed in the junior high schools in 1975. Positive evaluations soon prompted expansion into all junior and high schools in the county. The program included both the Sheriff's department and the local police department.
1982: Across the US
The "juvenile detectives" were answering the majority of calls in high schools and any elementary/middle school that feed the assigned high school. They also received a new name due to their new proactive responses, juvenile tactical officers or TAC officers.
1992: Across the US
Despite the relative success of the TAC's, the policy changed once again in 1992 and TACs became uniformed and drove marked patrol cruisers instead of detective's cars. For the last decade the system has remained fairly stable except for the name, which has changed once again to School Resource Officers (West, 1995).
*- Sherling, Kathy. (1998). National Association of School Resource Officers: Basic Course Manuel. Florida: NASRO, In
*Christopher F. McNicholas

History of Law Enforcement

_For those of you interested in the background and history of law enforcement in general, the following may be of interest to you.

In ancient times, the military was mostly responsible for maintaining law and order in cities. The Roman Empire had a reasonably effective law enforcement system until the decline of the empire, though there was never an actual police force in the city of Rome itself. Beginning in the 5th century policing became a function of clan chiefs and heads of state. Local lords and nobles were responsible to maintain order in their lands, and often appointed a constable, sometimes unpaid, to enforce the law.

In 1663, London hired watchmen to guard the streets at night, augmenting the force of unpaid constables, as the first paid law enforcement body. This practice was widespread throughout the United Kingdom. Then, on June 30, 1800 the authorities of Glasgow, Scotland successfully petitioned the Government to pass the Glasgow Police Act establishing the City of Glasgow Police. This was the first professional police service in the country and was different from previous law enforcement in that it practiced preventative policing. This was quickly followed in other towns, which set up their own police forces by individual Acts of Parliament. In 1829, the Metropolitan Police Act was passed by Parliament, allowing Sir Robert Peel, the then home secretary, to found the London Metropolitan Police, generally regarded as the first civil police force organized on modern lines. It became a model for the police forces of many countries, including the United States. The first police service to be set up outside the UK was in Gibraltar, with the formation of the Gibraltar Police (now Royal Gibraltar Police) in 1830.
By 1721, the Mossos d’Esquadra had been formed in Catalonia in northeastern Spain.

In 1834, the Toronto Police were founded in Canada, one of the first municipal police departments in North America.
In the United States some of the first full-time police forces, founded by Joseph Osier, were the Boston Police Department founded in 1839 and New York City Police Department in 1845.