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| From left, Sgt. Mel Gonzalez, Sgt. Scott Dean and Captain Beth Jones of the Collier County Sheriff's Office Youth Relations Bureau accept the 2014 Model Agency Award from the National Association of School Resource Officers on Monday. The annual award recognizes a law enforcement agency for its creative and innovative approach to school-based policing. |
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office Youth Relations Bureau
received the 2014 Model Agency Award from the National Association of School
Resource Officers (NASRO) on Monday.
The annual award
recognizes a law enforcement agency for its creative and innovative approach to
school-based policing.
“Your program is indeed a shining example of the school
resource officers program,’’ NASRO Executive Director Mo Canady wrote in a June
3 letter to Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk announcing the agency’s
selection.
The award was
presented at the 24th annual NASRO School Safety Conference near Palm Springs,
Calif.
Sheriff Rambosk said
he appreciated the honor and credited the hardworking men and women of the
Youth Relations Bureau who strive to keep Collier County’s school campuses
safe.
“These deputies are not only keeping our campuses safe, they
are also mentoring and educating our children in a variety of ways,” Sheriff Rambosk
said. “Through their passion and drive, this special group of deputies is
investing in our youth and their community. Keeping 45,000 students, 3,200
teachers and administrators, 1,200 support staff, 8,370 volunteers and mentors,
and innumerable parents safe and involved is quite a feat, but our Youth
Relations deputies are succeeding.”
The Sheriff's Office has a long history of providing safety
and security in Collier County schools. The partnership between CCSO and
Collier County Public Schools began in 1977 when then-Sheriff Aubrey Rogers
first assigned eight deputies to safeguard our schools.
CCSO’s Youth
Relations Bureau has grown into one of the biggest and most qualified school
resource officer units in Florida. With a total of 70 members, the Youth
Relations Bureau encompasses not only 47 certified law enforcement officers; it
includes 20 school crossing guards, and three support staff. Together they work
with a division of more than 100 deputies who provide support and assistance to
the 48 public schools, 12 alternative school programs and 10 private and
charter schools in Collier County.
“For more than 35 years we have forged a successful working
relationship with students, teachers, administrators and parents in Collier
County,” Sheriff Rambosk said. “The Youth Relations Bureau has proven to be a
vital component in school safety and violence prevention.”
Collier County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kamela
Patton echoed the Sheriff’s s comments.
“The relationship between the school district and the
Collier County Sheriff’s Office is like no other and it even extends beyond the
walls of our schools,” Dr. Patton said. “The CCSO programs that serve our
students – ranging from the award-winning DARE program to the phenomenal
Summerfest program – help make that bond even stronger.”
Dr. Patton went on to say, “I know of districts that have no
officers in their schools whatsoever. What we do here in Collier County does
indeed serve as a model for other districts and law enforcement agencies to
follow. My heartfelt appreciation goes out to Sheriff Rambosk and his Youth
Relations Bureau deputies for all they do to provide a safe and secure learning
environment for our students and staff.”
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office Youth Relations Bureau
boasts:
* 100 percent funding
by the CCSO budget through the Collier County Board of Commissioners.
* community
partnerships resulting in donations that support CCSO’s ambitious Summerfest
program. These partnerships are vital to our annual Summerfest youth activities
programs that affect more than 55,000 youth in Collier County.
* a model Drug Abuse
Resistance Education program (DARE). Sheriff Rambosk serves on DARE America’s
prestigious International Law Enforcement Advisory Board.
* summer, spring and
winter activities for youth beyond the school year. Activities include a day
camp for fifth-graders over spring break; Junior Deputy Day at the county fair,
which draws more than 3,000 Collier fourth-graders; and Winterfest during
winter break.
* Teen Driver
Challenge program, which provides teen drivers with the knowledge and hands-on
experience to reduce their chances of being involved in a crash.
* continuous
improvement through classes and training with a focus on keeping school
emergency incidents under control. For example, every YRB member attends active
shooter training at least twice a year and has successfully completed Crisis
Intervention Training, a 40-hour course sponsored by the National Alliance for
the Mentally Ill.
* community
involvement through free events in partnership with outside entities such as
Drug Free Collier and Safe and Healthy Kids Coalition.
* declines in
juvenile crime and criminal prosecution of juveniles. A component of that
success is the agency’s Civil Citation diversion program that keeps kids from
having an arrest record and out of the juvenile justice system.
* award-winning
deputies: Cpl. Sandra Sprenger was recently honored with the School Advocacy
Safety Council’s 2014 National Exemplary Bullying Prevention Award.
