School Resource Officers

Currently there are 5 School Resource Officers at the Haywood County Sheriff’s Office. One Deputy is assigned to Tuscola High School. One Deputy is assigned to Central Haywood High School, which is a High School for at-risk and troubled youth. The third Deputy rotates between Canton Middle School and Bethel Middle School. As of January of 2009 there are two Deputies assigned to Haywood Community College.  The D.A.R.E. Officer serves as a School Resource Officer to the five elementary schools in the county.

School Resource Officers serve a variety of functions. They provide security during school hours and at nearly all after school and athletic events. They counsel students in a variety of situations and provide a role model for kids who often have no positive adult influence at home. They discourage truancy and provide traffic control before and after school. They are frequently called on to mediate disputes between students and deal with bullying issues. The D.A.R.E. Officer and the School Resource

Officers conduct training to middle and elementary students on prevention of bullying. These Deputies also take enforcement action in response to incidents involving drugs, weapons, and violence on school campus.