Did adding a second SRO make West Craven High School safer?

Vanceboro, CRAVEN COUNTY — A year ago, Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes said deputies were getting up to 10 calls a week from fights to gang activity at West Craven High School. Since adding another school resource officer, deputies said calls have decreased.

Two school resource officers (SROs) now patrol the halls of West Craven High School.

Last year, Sheriff Hughes said he saw a need for additional support and asked the board of commissioners to pay for a second SRO.

It costs about $100,000 to add an SRO, which includes their salary and equipment. Grants and taxpayers cover the cost.

Ryleigh Mells will soon be a student at West Craven High School. She is in the middle school where there is only one school resource officer.

“There’s a lot of drama, we’ve had a few fights… It’s hard to feel safe now because we only have one and he’s not everywhere,” she said.

That’s why Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes has assigned two school resource officers to West Craven High School.

Lt. Stevan Liszewski is helping to implement this model in all high schools in the school district.

News 12’s Bilyana Garland asked what is the biggest challenge facing high school students in the county. “I mean it’s a very complex world we live in these days. You have so much social media, gang activity, a vaping situation that’s always tough on these guys,” he said.

As of October 2023, an SRO was responsible for the safety of approximately 900 students and school staff.

Lt. Liszewski said he sees gang recruitment on campus, describing them as not the infamous Bloods and Crips, but rather neighborhood gangs.

“As the older members are recruiting the younger members, they’re going to be recruiting from the schools, so they (deputies) are going to try to monitor that information and weed it out before it happens,” he said.

He said gang members use the campus environment to make money selling drugs, but deputies have tools to help track the movement of drugs in the halls.

Lt. Liszewski said that while monitoring and securing the campus, SROs step into mentoring. “They are very prepared for where they are placed, they are there for a reason,” he said.

Ryleigh agreed, “They should make sure everything is fine and everything is fine, and if you don’t have that, then your school is going to be all over the place.”

Lt. Liszewski said in three years, the number of SROs has doubled in Craven County schools, training them to make a lifelong positive impact on students.

But some disagree. The organization called Learning for Justice argued that the presence of SROs makes students feel more surveilled than supported.

Lt. Liszewski said in Craven County, he sees a connection between increased school-based SROs with more student involvement in The DARE program. In addition, he said the “See Something, Say Something” app is a resource for parents and students to send a tip about problem behavior in schools.

News 12 reached out to Craven County Schools representative for comment, but they said they can’t host one.