Campus security is a nationwide issue, and increasing concerns about adolescent safety prompts many to seek change. One implementation to help campus safety comes in the form of Student Resource Officers (SROs)—police officers at schools tasked with stopping criminal activity among students. Officer Brad Pullen recently joined the Arroyo Grande High School staff and brings a unique approach to the position through his previous work with young people.
“I worked at [the] Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County for five years as assistant club director,” Pullen said, presenting reasoning for why the SRO position would be a good fit. “I wanted to get into law enforcement, so I went into about five years of Pismo Beach Police Department,” Pullen said. “I heard there was an opening at Arroyo Grande’s police department for a school resource officer, [so] I came over here.”
Pullen is responsible for student safety outside of school as well as on campus.
“Obviously in school, there are internet crimes as well [as] other crimes,” Pullen said.
Pullen spends around 2 days out of the week on campus, but AGHS isn’t his only responsibility.
“I have the high school, middle school, and two elementary schools, so I kind of float around,” Pullen said.
Specialized training is crucial for an SRO’s effectiveness. SROs must be trained enough to assure professionalism.
“I went to a one-week school resource officer special training in Los Angeles, a one-week child abuse training, [and] we go to active shooter instructor training,” Pullen said.
SROs should address school issues differently than typical police officers because the circumstances an SRO will find themselves in differ from community police officer situations, so they must learn different strategies to adapt to the school climate.
SROs can use in-school punishments to avoid addressing minor offenses in the way a regular police officer would which benefits the student and hopefully cultivates a better relationship between the student and the officer moving forward.
“We handle things internally as much as possible unless it becomes serious,” Pullen said.
The main complaint against police presence on campus is that they tend to escalate situations into violence. Research done by the University of Arizona found that “SROs are associated with higher rates of violence in schools.” However, by responding to students with administrative discipline and not with legal repercussions, the threat of escalation is much less present and will contribute less to the criminalization of students.
“It seems like just being late to classes is the biggest issue I deal with,” Pullen said
Building trust and positive relationships with students is a priority for Pullen, and he doesn’t want students to feel intimidated by his presence on campus.
“I want [students] to talk to me, and just say ‘hi’ and ask questions,” Pullen said.
Ultimately, Pullen hopes to have good relationships with AGHS and will continue to contribute to school safety.
