SPD outlines school, community safety plan

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SANDPOINT – Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon laid out updates and plans for school safety and the resource officer program at Wednesday’s council meeting.

In response to a shooting that claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, last week, Coon said the top question he has been asked is: “What is the Sandpoint Police Department doing to protect our students in our schools?”

“The recent high profile school shooting has captured the attention of the public and has resulted in a variety of reactions from individuals, government agencies, school administrators, and even law enforcement officers in the response,” Coon said.

In the plans, one method of action would be increasing the number of resource officers from one to two in schools that have the program, as the key advantage seen with having one present in schools, is that it can “be a deterrent for potential misbehavior and delinquent activities,” Coon said.

“Our school resource officers are dedicated to the schools and available for responding to all emergencies within their schools,” Coon said. “The sheer appearance sometimes it can make us feel safe and secure in our schools,”

Having resource officers in schools is beneficial because not only are they dedicated to responding to emergencies specifically at schools, but they have the tools to do so. In addition to identifying and assessing potential risks, Coon said resource officers have built trust with students to the point where they are able to talk to resource officers about their home lives.

“Our school resource officers have increased in and improved our relationship with our students within the schools,” Coon said. “The plus of that is that ability to communicate with them at a greater level than we've ever seen before. Our students feel comfortable speaking with them,”

Another course of action the police department is taking will be reviewing policies and procedures as well as working closely with the Lake Pend Oreille School District regarding school safety as a community issue.

“While schools can implement safety measures on their own, the experience has taught me over the years, that it's not an individual act that takes place from strictly the school,” Coon said. “School safety is not an individual task, but a team effort which includes but should not be limited to some of the following members or local government agencies or school board members or county commissioners, the individual schools and their administrators or local law enforcement agencies, first responders, the public and mental health.”

These are just preliminary plans that were discussed at Wednesday evening's council meeting and come in conjunction with updates LPOSD has already made concerning student safety, including a multidisciplinary team, formed in partnership with LPOSD. The team, which assesses and makes recommendations for safety improvement, has led to additional cameras, upgraded locking mechanisms, and improved communication between schools and parents.

Before Coon concluded his presentation, he emphasized that the safety of the community is just as important to local law enforcement as it is to the public.

“I think that's the biggest point that I want to make today is that the city of Sandpoint, the police officers in this agency, and I'm gonna speak on behalf of the other ones, the Ponderay Police Department, Bonner County Sheriff's Office, Idaho State Police, Idaho Fish & Game, if there's an issue that takes place in our community, whether it's in our school, in Walmart, down at the beach, each and every one of those guys will not hesitate to put their life on the line to save our students, or guests or us, “ Coon said.

After Coon finished speaking, Councilman Andy Groat thanked Coon and the department for keeping the community safe.

“That last little bit kind of got me. So I'm gonna take a beat,” Groat said, addressing the topic of gun violence and protection of the community. “Thank you for doing everything that you've done up until this point, your commitment to doing more, and always reviewing and giving the best to our kids and their educators and us as a community. So there are no questions in that. But it's a huge thank you to you, and to our public to understand that, although they are now paying attention, you have been paying attention for a very long time. And you are ready, and you and your people will go.”