A day after a school shooting in Georgia, Arizona’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced the extension of the Department of Education’s agreement with a company that provides armed and uniformed School Safety Officers.
The agreement with the company, Off Duty Management, is extended through 2026 at multiple schools in six counties as part of Horne’s goal to make sure students, educators and staff are protected.
Last October, Horne announced the partnership with Off Duty Management to facilitate the placement of armed, uniformed police officers in school campus officer positions despite an ongoing shortage of police officers in many communities.
“The safety of school campuses is a priority for my administration,” Horne stated. “If some armed maniac should try to invade a school, the most effective response is to have well-trained armed law enforcement officers to protect everyone on campus. Our partnership with Off Duty Management is a vital part of ensuring safety. It is proving to be a successful, effective public-private partnership and the first of its kind in the nation.”
“This agreement with Off Duty Management is a complement to the School Resource Officer program and illustrates how police officers who work as School Safety Officers also are trusted role models for students, which brings a sense of safety to the school campus,” added Mike Kurtenbach, Arizona Department of Education’s Director of School Safety.
Off Duty Management was founded by former law enforcement officers designed to support law enforcement initiatives. The company works directly with local law enforcement agencies and school districts to fill vacant School Safety Officer positions. Off Duty Management’s OfficerTRAK® software and mobile app make it easy for officers to schedule an off-duty job opportunity as a School Safety Officer at various schools in participating Arizona school districts.
“By working with law enforcement agencies utilizing the Off Duty Management solution, an off-duty officer from one jurisdiction can elect to work in a school within the jurisdiction of another law enforcement agency,” Kurtenbach. “With this innovation, an officer can be provided to a school even if the community where that school is located has a shortage of its own officers. Cross-jurisdictional sharing of resources makes perfect sense to use this strategy to protect children and others in schools. More than 700 officers are trained and eligible for School Safety Officer assignments.”
