Officers to accompany students heading back to school

Photo: iStock

With the school year starting up, children are heading back to school. And this year, a special guest will be joining them.

Starting Monday, DeLand Police officers will make regular visits to schools in the DeLand area. 

The officers will complete several tasks, including:

  • Foot patrols of both the interior and exterior buildings.
  • Interact with students during lunch in conjunction with the department's ongoing initiative called Honorable Endeavor, which focuses on building relationships with area residents.

On top of this, throughout this year, trained officers will also go to city schools to educate students on different topics that are agreed upon by school officials.

"Operation School Guardian is simply an extension of our community-oriented policing strategy to build lasting relationships focused on our youth. I believe that as we do more and more engagement with our youth, we will reap the benefits of these relationships in our community," said Police Chief Jason Umberger. "Our children are our future and the police department is committed to making sure they are safe."