School Resource Officers

After incidents with guns at Midtown in the past few years, safety has become an even higher priority for the administration. The school resource officers (SROs) serve as the police officers around school and are mainly responsible for making sure that there is no opportunity for violent incidents. 

“We have had some situations with weapons being brought into the school over the last few years, and the SROs handled those situations wonderfully, and made everyone including the administrators feel as safe as possible,” Dr. Bockman said. “They do so much around the school, and because of their work, the number of fights and other disciplinary events has decreased, and overall, they have done amazing work this year and in the past few years.”

This relationship built between students and officers has seen Midtown report one of its lowest crime rates ever, a sharp decline from pre-pandemic numbers, which were some of the highest the school has seen.

“Looking at the numbers, Midtown has some of the lowest rates of fighting and crime out of any APS schools this year, which is a reverse of some previous trends,” APS Police Chief Ronald Applin said. “Our police officers at Midtown have worked so incredibly hard this year, and this is just a reward for all of the work they have put in. From the district level down to Midtown, it has been a great and coordinated effort.”

Despite these successes, there have been struggles within the school safety department relating to the rising rates of student mental health issues.

On top of this, the police department has struggled with the nationwide “Defund the Police” movement, which gained prominence in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder on may 25, 2020 by a member of the Minneapolis Police Department.

“We lost a lot of the trust with students and parents that we had spent years trying to build up,” Applin said. “A lot of the students at Midtown and in other APS schools started being more hesitant towards us at the police department, and seeing the video of George Floyd, I can understand why. In the months since that happened, we have worked extremely hard to try and rebuild that trust, and I can see that it is starting to get rebuilt with the students.”

A lot of the success of the SROs at Midtown is due to the organization and training they receive from Atlanta Public Schools’ Police Department, which conducts intensive training courses for all officers stationed in APS schools. 

“We run extremely thorough background checks and make sure the officers are physically fit and have at least two years of background experience so that we can find the best possible officers that we can,” Applin said. “This has resulted in us getting the best possible officers from across the state, and has been reflected in the trust that students are having with police officers, which is at one of its highest points ever.”

Despite these challenges, Midtown’s faculty and administration have been thankful for the work the police do in keeping the Midtown school community safe.

“I am really grateful to our police department for the work they do and how they keep us safe each and every day here at Midtown,” Herrera said. “To me, they are more than just security. I see them being supportive; I see them creating community, and I see them laughing with kids. They are really a bright spot in the Midtown community, and it would be a lot different here without them.”

Students, such as Silva, share the same thankfulness for the police.

“The police really make a difference on campus, and I feel safer with them here,” Silva said. “Much harm or crime doesn’t really occur here at Midtown, and though I haven’t seen them that much, I am sure they are doing their job and am thankful for that.”

Administrators and police have high hopes for continuing to build trust with the students and community in the future and keeping Midtown the safest it can possibly be.

“The police really make this school what it is with their constant dedication and care for the students, and I have no doubts that into the future, they will only make Midtown the best it can possibly be and uphold our exemplary standards,” Dr. Bockman said. “They are an essential part of our support staff, all of whom have come together and made our transition back to in-person learning much easier than expected.”