Cathedral City Police Chief George Crum says he was “blindsided” by PSUSD decision to not begin semester with School Resource Officers

Cathedral City Police Chief George Crum shared his thoughts with Peter Daut on the decision for Palm Springs Unified to not begin the semester with School Resource Officers. He said parents should be concerned about their kids' safety.

Palm Springs Unified School District's Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Mike Swize, responded in a statement sent to News Channel 3.

“We value the relationship we have with our law enforcement partners, and as was shared at our last Board meeting, our Executive Director of Security and Disaster Preparedness is working with those partners to have a complete multifaceted resource for students on our high school campuses. We will provide frequent updates to the Board of Education as we work through this process, and we will come back to them with a recommendation on moving forward once the work is complete. It is unfortunate that in the midst of working towards a mutually agreed upon role and contract for SROs on our High School Campuses, some in law enforcement have taken these negotiations public and have disregarded the District’s efforts in supporting students and ensuring their safety. In the interim period during these discussions, I want to assure our community that our high school students are safe with well-trained administrative and security staff, and we will not hesitate to call upon our local police departments to provide assistance at any time it is needed. Our local police and sheriff’s department officers are welcomed on all Palm Springs Unified campuses.”

More information on the overall program: https://kesq.com/news/2021/08/03/psusd-will-not-have-police-officers-on-campus-for-start-of-school-year/