School Police/School Safety

Mission Statement

The Glynn County School Police mission is to create a safe and secure learning environment for all students, staff, and visitors within our school community. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and respect while carrying out our duties. Our primary goal is to promote positive relationships, trust, and open communication with students, parents, and faculty, fostering a sense of safety and well-being. Through proactive engagement, community partnerships, and evidence-based practices, we strive to prevent and address incidents that may disrupt the educational process. We are dedicated to providing effective law enforcement services, promoting conflict resolution, and offering guidance and support to students in need. Our ultimate aim is to empower individuals, promote mutual understanding, and contribute to the overall success and development of every student in our care.

We are committed to cultivating a positive and inclusive atmosphere by providing professional law enforcement services, building strong relationships with students, staff, and parents, and promoting proactive approaches to prevent and address potential safety concerns. Through collaboration, communication, and community engagement, we strive to inspire trust, promote respect, and empower our school community to achieve its full potential.

This mission will be achieved by practicing our core values as follows:

Professionalism: Our officers will be qualified, meet all standards and be highly trained and equipped to respond appropriately to any challenge. We will network and work hand-in-hand with our outside public safety partners to achieve our mission.

Accountability: We will be held to the highest standards of ethics in our actions, both in public and private.

Courtesy: We will strive to be courteous, approachable, responsive, proactive and willing to assist the staff and public in accordance with our established policies and procedures.

Fairness: We will treat all parties with dignity and respect while we diligently enforce the law and school discipline codes without favoritism or bias.

About Us

Beginning in 1998, the Glynn County School System began utilizing an in-house law enforcement/public safety unit as allowed by Georgia law. Currently, the unit consists of 26 sworn law enforcement officers and 1 dispatcher assigned to schools throughout the system. All of these officers are sworn police officers, with full powers of arrest, certified through the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council (POST) and sworn in by a judge. Currently, there are over 40 board of education law enforcement units statewide that are sworn and certified by Georgia POST.

Our officers, many of whom have more than 30 years of law enforcement experience, have taken their expertise, combined with their concern for youth, into our learning environments to serve and protect our students and staff. Like all other Glynn County Schools employees, they focus on student performance and success and are here to support educators in their respective learning environments. These officers, known as “School Resource Officers” or SROs, have the added awesome responsibility of striving to keep a safe and secure learning environment. In addition to school campuses, these officers patrol school traffic zones and school-sponsored activities such as sporting events.

Using the motto "School Safety Is Our Concern,” this professional law enforcement unit stands ready to keep school environments safe and secure by providing vigilant public safety, building healthy bonds of trust with students and striving to keep in step with the most advanced training methods possible for campus public safety. It is truly community oriented policing at its very core.

In support of school principals, administrative teams and school faculties, each SRO serves to:

• Be very visible and patrol the campus to detect and deter unlawful and undesired activity;
• Be vigilant to ensure there are no unlawful intruders on campus and verify the identity of any stranger;
• Investigate violations of the law, document incidents and make arrests if required;
• Investigate and document accidents on school property;
• Act as a role model to students and build healthy mutual bonds of trust with them;
• Be a resource for principals to enhance campus public safety through constant planning, updating and analysis of the school’s crisis/safety plans;
• Handle traffic flow in and around school sites and events;
• Enforce traffic laws related to school zones, school campuses and buses;
• Conduct classes for students on law enforcement and public safety issues;
• Enforce the Georgia school attendance law and address truancy issues along with staff;
• Coordinate as needed to provide assistance to, or request assistance from, our outside public safety partners including local police and fire departments and other state agencies; and
• Function as a true peace officer and as the primary law enforcement contact on campuses with all powers and authority vested in the peace officers of the state of Georgia.
• Maintain contact with our dispatch center, which is equipped with multiple camera views and is staffed by a former Glynn/Brunswick 911 supervisor.
• The GCSP dispatch center has immediate and direct radio contact capability with the Glynn/Brunswick 911 Center and other agencies.