The Vicksburg Warren School District announced the hire of five new Safety Resource Officers (SROs) to the Campus Police Department this week.

This will make a total of 11 SROs that are employed by the school district. SROs are classified by the State of Mississippi as law enforcement officers, and according to the Director of School Safety for the district, Officer Dewayne Sims, they are required to have at least three years of prior experience in law enforcement and have graduated from a certified police academy.

“We have the same rights and privileges as the sheriff’s department and the police department. It’s just geared toward the school,” Sims said. “Oversight comes from the school board and of course the superintendent.”

Sims added that the functions of the SROs are varied, and include student and public outreach.

“We do mentorship, we teach classes and we also have a law enforcement function as well,” Sims said. “That’s where we come in and teach our area of expertise.”

For instance, Sims, who has a background as a narcotics investigator, often teaches classes on drug abuse.

“The ultimate goal as the campus police department is that we just want to make sure that students have a sense of security,” he said.

The new SROs hired by the school district are Officer Eric White, Officer Chris Heard, Officer Michael Rainey, Officer Ronnie Fuller and Officer John Minor.

VWSD is also currently looking to fill three more SRO positions in the district.