The Town of Swanzey and Monadnock Regional School District are pleased to announce that after nearly 10 years, Monadnock Regional High School will again have a sworn police officer serving as a School Resource Officer (SRO). Swanzey Police Officer Charles Johnson, who has nine years of law enforcement experience between the Hinsdale and Swanzey Police Departments, has been selected as the new SRO. Officer Johnson is a distinguished Army veteran, having served in the 82nd Airborne Division as an Army Ranger and in the Army Special Forces. Both the Town and School District Annual Meetings have approved warrant articles authorizing the return of the SRO program and at a meeting on August 8th the Superintendent of Schools and Chief of Police signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) outlining the position.
The School Resource Officer is a proactive school-based law enforcement officer with major goals of preventing and responding to school-based crime; fostering positive relationships between law enforcement, educators, and youth; and promoting a positive environment. The SRO will be mainly stationed at the Monadnock Regional Middle High School, but is expected to also visit the other schools in the district. The School District has had a school safety officer for the past several years, who will now be able to focus more on the other schools in the district. The Town also hopes to have the SRO initiate a one-week summer youth leadership academy gauged for children between the ages of 9 and 12 years of age.
In a joint statement Town Administrator Michael Branley and Superintendent Lisa Witte stated, “We are pleased that the Town and School District have been able to work together to bring a School Resource Officer back to Monadnock Regional High School. Having a School Resource Officer is expected to foster positive relationships between the school community and the police department and increase student safety.”
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