The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Police Department (CMSPD) hosted its inaugural School Resource Officer (SRO) Conference on Aug. 13 in preparation for the 2026-27 school year. Officers from CMSPD, as well as municipal police departments in Mecklenburg County, gathered for training and professional development.

More than 90 SROs work in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to serve and protect students and staff. They also build great relationships along the way and become mentors and friends that students can trust.

“We have the school resource officers from every school in the county. Every agency is represented here today,” said Chief Jonathan Thomas of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Police Department. “Today’s training is to give everyone a background and a basis of CMS programs, and our Standard Response Protocol. They’ve all been trained in it, but it’s always good to do refreshers and make sure that every agency has a common language.”

CMS follows the Standard Response Protocol, an all-hazards emergency response created by The “I Love U Guys” Foundation. It is a layered approach for safety protocols and procedures that Thomas said is working.

Annual crime data released by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction from the 2021-22 school year through the 2024-25 school year shows that CMS experienced:

• An 18% reduction in the total number of criminal acts
• A 20% decrease in acts of crime per 1,000 students
• A 62% reduction in possession of a weapon other than a firearm
• And most significantly, a 93% reduction in firearm possession incidents, from 29 to 3

“Our schools are safer, our students feel safer, and we want to continue on with that momentum this year,” Thomas said.

Social media was the main source of threats last year, with students posting things that would scare other students or recycling other social media posts. Thomas said that caused many issues in schools and took a great deal of police time. They want to investigate those incidents quicker and make sure students and parents understand there are serious consequences.

The conference gave officers the opportunity to review specific crisis scenarios and learn more about other programs, including the district’s ABCs of Active Survival training, Title IX and Student Discipline and Behavior Support.

“So far, I’ve learned a lot about holding, securing, lockdown, evaluating and what we need to go into shelter,” said Officer Dashea Ford with the Cornelius Police Department. “I think that’s great because I’m a new SRO, and it’s exciting to learn how to call code when needed. I was a patrol officer so a lot of stuff I’d probably go into lockdown for, but learning a different term and why we should hold or secure or go into shelter makes a difference to me.”

Ford will be on duty every day at Cornelius Elementary School. She earned a master’s degree to be a behavior analyst so she could work with children with special needs, but she also loves being a patrol officer.

“I really am big on kids, but I love law enforcement too,” Ford said, “so I feel like I can combine both worlds, and it matters.”