Globe editorial: Adding police officers a good move

In an editorial in today's edition, the Joplin Globe approved the move by the Joplin City Council Monday night to hire more police officers for the Joplin R-8 School District.

Thanks to that decision, the district will be able to have officers in place at the high school and at all three middle schools:

The Globe editorial said:

Increasing police presence on Joplin R-8's high-school and middle-school campuses was a no-brainer for the Joplin City Council the other night.
An October shooting incident allegedly involving a 13-year-old student at Memorial Middle School was an eye-opener for many parents, teachers and administrators in the district. An act of violence that only a few years ago was unthinkable in a school setting happened here.
The youngster allegedly fired a shot into the ceiling and then pointed the gun at the principal and pulled the trigger, but the weapon didn't discharge.
Police responded promptly to the scene and took the youngster into custody. But, in retrospect, having police officers stationed at the schools not only might head off similarly dangerous incidents, but also would send a strong message that such occurrences will not be tolerated.
The plan to add two Joplin police officers to the two that are already on duty as resource officers in schools makes excellent sense. One officer would be assigned to the high school and one each to the three middle schools. Two of the officers would teach drug-abuse resistance classes, and all of them would be available to respond to elementary schools if necessary.
"We may put one, two or three any place we may need to meet situations that arise," Joplin Superintendent Jim Simpson said. "We're going to be flexible and use these to meet the need of the school district, and be quick to change and adapt to meet the changing situation."
That makes sense. The key is that students and the public understand these are professionally trained law enforcement officers who should pose no threat or intimidation to students and whose job is to ensure the safety of the youngsters, faculty and administrators.
It is sad that security in schools requires the presence of police officers. But it is a fact of life in today's climate, dramatically underscored by the incident at Memorial Middle School last October, that schools are neither insulated against nor impervious to acts of mindless violence.