Richard Burrows, Chief of Police
371 Main St.
Acton, MA 01720
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019
Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net
Acton Police Officer Tyler Russell Excelling in New Role as Elementary School Resource Officer
ACTON — Chief Richard Burrows is pleased to announce that Officer Tyler Russell is excelling in his new role as the Acton Police Department’s newest School Resource Officer (SRO).
Officer Russell started in his new role at the beginning of the school year in August and is serving as an SRO for Acton-Boxborough’s elementary schools.
He began his career as an officer with the Acton Police Department in January 2016. As an SRO, Officer Russell is fulfilling many responsibilities including educating students on safety topics such as drugs and alcohol, peer pressure, bullying and cyber-safety. He also assists with school security, incident response, emergency preparedness, student and family assistance and event support.
While with the department, Officer Russell has worked with the Middlesex County Sheriff’s Office Youth Public Safety Academy, a week-long program where kids work with local police and fire officials to learn about public safety roles and emergency preparedness.
“I wanted to pursue the school resource officer position because I was excited for the opportunity to form a positive relationship with the kids in our community. I hope that by doing simple things such as playing games with the kids at recess, they will feel comfortable bringing issues to me and know that I am here to help them no matter how big or small an issue is,” Officer Russell said. “I’m honored to have been chosen for this role and I look forward to representing the department and forming positive relationships with kids and parents at the schools.”
The Acton-Boxborough School District also helped in selecting Officer Russell for the role by participating in a candidate interview panel. This was the first time the school was involved in the process of selecting an officer to work in the schools.
“School resource officers play important roles in our schools by maintaining safety and participating in community outreach activities with students and parents,” Chief Burrows said. “Officer Russell has been doing an excellent job in his first couple of months in the schools and I look forward to seeing him continue to build relationships with the kids.”
Officer Russell completed the 40-hour National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) Basic SRO Training earlier this year. The training provides tools for officers to build positive relationships with both students and staff. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from Worcester State College and is trained in active shooter response, applied suicide intervention techniques and SafeSchools programming.
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