Worcester County Mulls Armed Officers In Schools
SNOW HILL, Md. (AP) -- The sheriff of Worcester County is proposing putting an armed officer in every county school starting this fall.
The Daily Times of Salisbury reports that Sheriff Reggie Mason wants to hire 13 full-time deputies to serve as school resource officers during the school year. They would then be moved to road patrol in the summer. The county has 13 public schools and three private schools. There's currently one active school resource officer.
Mason expects the plan to initially cost $1.6 million, but that the figure would likely drop after that in the following year.
The debate over armed school officers has intensified since the massacre of 20 children at a Connecticut elementary school in December.
The sheriff's office and police department currently patrol the county's schools whenever they can.
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Information from: The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., http://www.delmarvanow.com/
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