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Albany- State Senator Michael Nozzolio today announced his strong opposition to Governor Spitzer's proposal to eliminate the State Police School Resource Officer (SRO) program. Under Governor Spitzer's plan, 92 Troopers in the SRO program will be reassigned to Upstate's inner-cities to work side-by-side with local police officers under Operation IMPACT.

Nozzolio has sent a letter to State Police Superintendent Preston Felton calling for SROs to continue serving rural school districts and explained the importance of the Troopers in the communities in which they have become ingrained. Attached is Senator Nozzolio's letter to Superintendent Felton.

"It was deeply disappointing to learn Governor Spitzer wants to eliminate our vital Student Resource Officer program," said Senator Nozzolio. "If it is the Governor's priority to address gang and drug crime among our youth, removing SROs from these schools is completely counterproductive. I am firmly opposed to this and will be working to reverse the Governor's proposal."

Under the SRO program, New York State Troopers are assigned to full-time positions within rural schools and provide assistance to students. SROs are specially trained uniformed officers assigned to provide law enforcement, disciplinary and student counseling services to school districts.

There are a reported 92 SROs throughout the State and the program has been credited with solving a number of crimes in and out of schools as a result of stronger involvement and communication between SROs and students. SROs have expertly handled everything from bullying and drug infractions to students bringing weapons to school and attempted child abductions.

"As a longtime advocate for stronger law enforcement, I strongly support Operation IMPACT but our rural communities should not be neglected through budget cuts. Many of these rural communities do not have a full-time police force and redeploying SROs would put extreme pressure on the local municipalities' already overburdened part-time forces. The SRO program has been a success and I must oppose the Governor's actions because I see it as a threat to the public safety to the region I represent."

If Governor Spitzer's budget proposal were to go through, school districts could face an expense of over $70,000 to replace their SRO. Senator Nozzolio, Chairman of the Senate Crime Victims, Crime and Corrections Committee, stated that he will fight tirelessly to retain the program during upcoming State Budget negotiations.

"It is outrageous to make our already overburdened taxpayers choose between yet another tax increase and abandoning a vital asset to their children's safety. It is imperative that the SRO program be kept in the State budget and I will be fighting in the upcoming budget negotiations to keep this valuable program funded," concluded Nozzolio.

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