Some schools use off-duty police officers when school resource officers not readily available

(InvestigateTV) — Safety is top of mind in schools across the country.

To help protect students and staff, districts nationwide have turned to school resource officers, also known as SROs.

They are sworn law enforcement officers who have the ability to make arrests and are usually armed.

While it’s recommended that every school have at least one carefully selected SRO, our investigation uncovered that a shortage of police officers has made filling the role in schools challenging.

Reporter Amy Cutler explains how an Arizona school district turned to off-duty police officers to help monitor campus safety.