It has been a month since the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the victims, their families and the entire Newtown Community. As our children return to school from the holiday break, we thought it would be helpful to let you know what we are doing to ensure the safety of our children.

The Department of Public Safety dedicates a group of personnel, Neighborhood Resource Officers (NROs), to focus on school and neighborhood safety issues. The NROs are assigned to the Crime Prevention Unit and each has specific schools and neighborhoods that they provide dedicated services to. One important aspect of their function is providing school safety training to staff and students at each school in the City of Sunnyvale. The training is offered on an annual and on-going basis. Each school has participated in the training within the last two years.

Members of DPS also receive regular and on-going training for response to school violence situations.   In addition, the department regularly attends outside specialized training in the area of school safety in order to remain contemporary in response protocols. Department members attended two separate specialized courses over the last year.

The training has paid dividends as DPS and the Sunnyvale School District have a strong working relationship that has allowed for swift and appropriate response to safety issues in and around the various schools. As an example, last January a false report of an intruder armed with weapons was reported at one of our grammar schools. The combined response of the School District and DPS to the event highlighted the importance of the on-going training. Whether there are events occurring at a particular school or incidents near a school that call for school safety measures, we must continually work together to focus on the safety of the children.

Based upon recent events, we cannot be satisfied with our current efforts in safeguarding children and must continue looking for preventative measures. Violence prevention, mental health response, and gun safety are topics of discussion at the national and local levels. We will remain engaged in these discussions and look for ways to increase our efforts in proactively addressing school violence. Please know that both of our organizations are working together to provide a safe and healthy environment for our children.

Sincerely,