RICHLAND TWO AND RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT JOINT NEWS CONFERENCE
COLUMBIA, S.C. —
WHAT: Officials with Richland School District Two and the Richland County Sheriff’s Department will hold a news conference to provide an update on the progress to add 10 School Resource Officers at Richland Two schools after receiving a grant from the
S.C. Department of Public Safety.
WHEN: Wednesday, March 2, 2022, at 9 a.m.
WHERE: Richland Two Institute of Innovation (R2i2) Conference Center
How much manpower will be wasted on Wednesday morning, when a celebration is planned for something that is just a matter of pushing paper and money around?
Why not make a video and publish it on Livestream?
An announcement like that would be perfectly adequate to inform the public that money has been found for ten more SROs. Why should there be pomp and circumstance surrounding this announcement?
Unless a few people are just wanting to plant more feathers in their caps and say, "Look at me. Look at me."
Richland 2 currently spends $4.5 Million on SROs. I was shocked a couple of years ago when the $150,000/year cost was mentioned at a board meeting. If I recall correctly, the cost of a deputy was about $80,000 and the sheriff charged $70,000/year for the deputy's equipment (uniform, firearm, leather, all the 40 lbs. of equipment, AND a patrol car).
A SRO's patrol car is a commuter vehicle. Why not tell him to drive his own car to work and back?
If there is a need to transport a miscreant to jail, call a road deputy for that.