A letter to all Dubois County schools from the law enforcement community

To all Dubois County Schools,

All of us in the law enforcement community have been shocked and saddened by the recent school shooting in Newtown, CT. All of the departments in the county have trained and continue to discuss the response and prevention of similar situations.

Over the weekend I saw a suggestion that when officers have to sit in their patrol cars to work on reports that instead of parking along side the road or in a business parking lot that they find the nearest school parking lot and sit in a very visible spot.

In the modern era of law enforcement all of the officers in Dubois County now have computers in their patrol cars and are now more than ever not tied to being at the police station or office. Officer presence is a huge deterrent to any crime and in a worst case scenario if there were a problem at a school, what better situation than to have an officer already in the parking lot.

I wanted to make all of the schools aware that officers from the Dubois County Sheriff Department, Jasper City Police Department, Huntingburg Police Department, Ferdinand Police Department, and the Holland Town Marshall may start this practice.

I am not sure how often we will be able to sit there, but efforts will be made to make it a regular occurrence.

I wanted to make sure that all of the schools were aware of our thoughts and not be concerned if they saw an officer simply sitting in the parking lot or near the school.

If anyone has any questions, problems or concerns feel free to contact me via email or phone, or contact the police department for where your school is located and speak with them about the matter.