Overview

Ensuring a safe and secure environment for Ventura's students is one of our top priorities.

In a continuing effort to increase student safety and school security, the Ventura Police Department and the Ventura Unified School District (VUSD) have combined resources to develop a comprehensive and proactive safety program. Three Officers are assigned full time to Ventura, Buena, Pacific and Foothill High Schools and also work with staff, students, and personnel from the District's middle and elementary schools to address issues and concerns as they may arise.

The SROs perform a myriad of duties including:

• Mentoring - serving as mentors, role models, and counselors for students, and as an additional resource to teachers and staff.
• Community Outreach - participating in a variety of relationship building events such as Curbside Coffee Chats, College and Career Fairs, Back to School Nights, Graduations, Read Across America Week, Every 15 Minutes, and other events upon request.
• Classroom Instruction - teaching classes on drug and gang resistance, violence prevention, cyber safety, bullying prevention, and other safety topics. Participating as a guest speaker in a variety of subjects including: English, Government, Health, and Science classes, and in school-wide assemblies. . The SROs recently created a video to provide safety tips for kids about what do to during a School Lockdown, check it out here!
• Prevention & Intervention - interceding with an educational focus in students' use of tobacco, alcohol, and illegal drugs, and mentoring students who engage in programs such as the Grizzly Academy, Camp Pyles, Police Activities League (PAL), and Program Enrichment for After-school Kids (PEAK) programs.
• Training & Education - providing ongoing training to school staff on annually required lockdown drills and in campus security and drug abuse recognition. Serve as a liaison between students, schools, and social service agencies that provide additional learning opportunities.
• Drug Suppression - actively investigating criminal drug-related activity on or around school campuses.
• Enforcement & Education - working collaboratively with VUSD personnel regarding dangerous weapons or illegal activity on school campuses.
• Providing safety for all - keeping unauthorized adults and non-students off campus to maintain a safe and secure learning environment for all. Learn more about how to walk to school safely here.

Having SROs on campus is instrumental in helping to keep our schools safe. They play an integral part in the mentoring and guiding of youth in our city. Our Officers work hard to build trusting relationships and bonds with students and staff, strengthening relationships between our Department, VUSD, and the community.

Want to learn more about the School Resource Officer Program and partnership with the Ventura Unified School District? Contact Sergeant Joe Munger at 805-339-4495 or [email protected]..

Interested in hosting an Officer to lead a safety presentation for your classroom? Contact Community Outreach Specialist, Emily Graves, at 805-339-4312 or [email protected]