CENTENNIAL – The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Aurora Police Department and the Cherry Creek School District are committed to school safety and security. Those schools include Grandview High School, Cherokee Trail High School and Smoky Hill High School.
The Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office has offered to take over school resource duties at the three schools named above due to staffing priorities with the Aurora Police Department. With more than 2,000 students at each of the three high schools, Sheriff Tyler Brown has authorized two sheriff deputies to be assigned to each school to staff the campuses during school hours.
“By placing two deputies in each of these schools, students, staff and SROs will continue the atmosphere of trust and respect with one another which will result in less crime and keeping students and staff safe. It’s a collaborative effort between our agency, APD and the Cherry Creek School District that we believe will be very successful.”
“I appreciate the ability to build on the existing partnership we have with Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown and his deputies to ensure the service to our schools is unimpacted due to staffing shortages,” says Chief Vanessa Wilson, Aurora Police Department. “The Aurora Police Department frequently works with ACSO deputies as co-responders, providing mutual aid to community members in Arapahoe County. Both agencies are unwilling to compromise the safety of our students and have worked together with Cherry Creek School District to share in the responsibility for providing law enforcement resources.”
“It is our responsibility to make sure all students feel safe, supported and valued in school,” says Superintendent Christopher Smith, Cherry Creek School District. “Thanks to our ongoing partnership with the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office and Aurora Police Department, we will continue to ensure our schools are safe places for all students to thrive. We are grateful for the additional SROs from the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office.”
Arapahoe Sheriff SROs already patrol 19 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, Endeavor Academy and Eaglecrest High School in the CCSD. In January, the Aurora City Council will vote on whether to create an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to continue to work together beyond January 2022.