The Chandler Police Department has a School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to each Middle School, Junior High School and High School that is located in the city limits, covering three separate school districts: Chandler Unified, Kyrene Unified and Mesa Public Schools. These officers work with school administrators and educators year-round, supplementing and enhancing the Law-Related Education (LRE) component of the SRO program, as well as continuously evaluating the safety plan for each school.

All Chandler SROs are members of the Arizona School Resource Officers Association (ASROA) and the National School Resource Officers Association (NASRO), both of which provides training and networking among other SROs from across the state and nation.

The responsibilities of the SROs include but are not limited to:

• As a visible, active law enforcement figure on campus dealing with any law-related issues that occur.
• As a classroom resource for instruction in law related education.
• As a member of the faculty and administrative team working hand in hand to solve problems in the school community.
• As a resource for the students which will enable them to be associated with a police officer in a positive manner in their environment.
• As a resource to teachers, parents, and students for conferences on an individual basis dealing with individual problems or concerns.
• As a counseling/referral resource in areas which may affect the educational environment in a law-related nature.
• To assist with crisis intervention and emergency management planning.

The SRO utilizes both reactive and proactive community policing methods in dealing with their individual assigned schools. Several of Chandlers SRO’s participate in extra-curricular activities at their schools such as clubs and coaching sports teams. All this enables the SRO to foster positive relationships with both students and staff in order to change the way the public looks at the law enforcement community.

Recently, during the National Association of School Resource Officers Conference held in Phoenix, Arizona, the Chandler Police Department was one of only five departments in the United States to receive the prestigious award for Model School Resource Officer programs.