The number one goal of the Plum Borough School District Police Department is to keep our schools safe by protecting the safety and security of the students and staff members of this district. Other goals include developing mentoring programs and teaching safety awareness classes to our students.
Beginning in September of 2018, Plum Borough School District started the process of hiring a Chief of School Police and five additional armed school police officers. Four of these officers retired from local law enforcement agencies and one is retired from the Pennsylvania State Police. This gives the Plum Borough School District one police officer in each school in addition to Chief Hanna.
Some of the classes that the Plum Borough School District Police have presented to our students include “Police Officers Teach Us About Safety” (activity book), “Police Officers Are Our Friends” (activity book), Officer Phil Safety Program that pertains to stranger danger. “Be Alert, Don’t Get Hurt” (activity book), Anti Bullying Programs, Safe Online Searching, Talking Safely Online, Cyberbullying Awareness Training, Internet Safety for Teens and Forensic Science in Police Work. All Kindergarten Students were issued Plum School Police Junior Officer Badges. One of our officers introduced a “Negative Effects of Vaping” public service announcement contest. That officer solicited public and private donations for the prizes that were presented to the winners. Most of these programs are grade-specific and will be presented to that grade every year. Two of the new programs that will be presented this year will be a high school level police forensics class and “18 and the Law” which was developed by the Allegheny County Bar Association. This covers all criminal and civil laws that 18-year-olds need to be familiar with. Including car purchase warranties, rental/lease agreements, consequences of underage drinking, controlled substances laws, registering for the selective service, sexual harassment, internet use, and abuse and credit card usage. New programs will be researched and implemented over time.
All of the school police officers strive to be positive role models and work to ensure they are fair and compassionate to the needs and concerns of our students. The District has adopted many new policies and procedures to ensure the highest levels of safety and security.