The Wayne County Sheriff’s Office isn’t only dealing with contract negotiations. They’re also dealing with increased demand.
There were over 2,100 incidents at schools across Wayne County this year, according to data shared by the sheriff’s office and school districts. Those incidents were largely responded to by what’s known as a School Resource Officer.
Most schools across the Finger Lakes have them. But, requests for more school resource officers have to be left unfilled because of a staff shortage.
“At this point, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Office just doesn’t have the staff to fulfill all those requests right now, as well as maintain our road patrol coverage,” Sheriff Rob Milby said recently. “We’re positioned to put another 12 to 13 in our academy next year, pretty confident by this time next year we’ll be able to fulfill all those requests.”
But nothing is guaranteed on that front.
Parents in Wayne County have shared with school officials that they like seeing increased law enforcement presence when students are arriving or leaving. They also say SRO programs across the region have improved relations between students and police officers.
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