The 2019-2020 school year began [Thursday, August 15,] with the first full-time School Resource Officer (SRO) walking the halls and making himself available, to assist in making the schools more safe and secure.
Morrison Police Department has assigned Dan Simmons to fulfill the responsibility of SRO. He accepts the challenges with a positive and enthusiastic attitude. Simmons is a Clinton High School graduate who joined the Morrison Police Department in 2004.
He notes that he has “always liked working with kids.”
Officer Simmons looks forward to teaching students that “Law Enforcement is not always there just when they do something wrong.” He wants to “prevent future issues through the relationships built with the students. Building relationships that change the opinion of Law Enforcement” is Simmons’s goal in his new role as SRO.
Even though his time is spent within the halls of the Morrison District #6 facilities, he remains an employee of the Morrison Police Department. He operates under a contract with the District that defines the conditions of his responsibilities while on school grounds.
Simmons has offered his Law Enforcement expertise to MHS instructor Brian Bartos, to assist in the classroom for Driver Education. He looks forward to assisting the education process wherever his training can be beneficial.
The success of the SRO program will be very difficult to measure, because a truly effective program will have few incidents, to reference against non-recorded incidents from the past. Simmons will record daily interactions that he feels are notable and deserve future reference if they reoccur, or positive growth in development of individuals. He hopes to build students’ trust, to the point that they feel safe interacting with him and sharing information that can enhance the entire student body’s safety.
Neighboring school districts of Erie, Prophetstown-Lyndon-Tampico, and River Bend have joined Morrison, in the addition of an SRO within the past 12 months. Plans are to have these Officers join experienced Officers of Sterling, and Rock Falls, IL, in quarterly meetings, to share education and review needs that will improve their effectiveness.
Officer Dan Simmons admits, “It will take a while to determine the success of the program, but I am really looking forward to working with the kids.”