Barrington police officer shares his 'State of the SRO'

Rave reviews for school resource officer in Barrington

By Josh Bickford
Posted 1/29/18

Josh Melo stood before the Barrington School Committee at its Jan. 11 meeting and offered his "State of the SRO."

The title of his presentation drew laughs from the audience and committee …

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Barrington police officer shares his 'State of the SRO'

Rave reviews for school resource officer in Barrington

Posted

Josh Melo stood before the Barrington School Committee at its Jan. 11 meeting and offered his "State of the SRO."

The title of his presentation drew laughs from the audience and committee members, and a smile from the Barrington Police Department's school resource officer. 

Officer Melo, who began working in the schools in 2015, shared a positive message with the committee and school administrators. He told the committee about the focus of his work in the schools, the number of documented incident reports he has filed from the schools, and his thoughts on the future of the school resource officer position.

"I really only have two days to get into the schools," said Officer Melo, who works his remaining shifts with the police department. "If my role was expanded (as a school resource officer), I could go there a lot more often."

Officer Melo told the school committee that he has spent 24 full days in the schools so far this year, and taken 21 incident reports. In addition, he has assisted with six arrests involving his work at the schools, and he has been a guest speaker in about 35 classes throughout the district.

The incident reports and arrests included trespassing, bullying, weapons possession, fighting, sexting, vaping and vandalism. Officer Melo highlighted one recent case where a female student emailed him after her cell phone went missing. She told Officer Melo that she had been in a restroom at the school when someone took the phone.

Officer Melo said he reviewed surveillance footage taken outside the restroom — there are security cameras inside the high school — and identified a suspect. Officer Melo and school administrators met with the student in question and before long "We were able to return the phone back to the student."

Officer Melo added: "We were able to resolve that in less than 24 hours."

The school resource officer also told committee members that some of his work does not end up in incident reports. He said he spends some of his time speaking to students, teachers, and parents of students.

With students, Officer Melo emphasizes the need to make smart decisions. He said many students are not being responsible with their online activity and social media interactions: "We've had a lot of conversations — they don't know how to handle this."

Officer Melo said he has also discussed dating violence with students, the restrictions included with provisional drivers' licenses, and with younger students, bicycle safety. 

He said his main goal was to educate students on issues before they become problems.

Officer Melo told the school committee that he has worked closely with parents and teachers during his time as the school resource officer. Sometimes he answers questions from parents about how to address issues they are having with their children, and other times he has spoken with teachers about a potential active shooter situation.

Officer Melo has become a familiar face in Barrington High School, and said the student producers of the school's Sunrise Show have approached him about becoming a regular feature on the program. 

Toward the end of the presentation, Officer Melo told the committee that he believes his role at the school should be expanded.

"That's how I feel," he added. 

Barrington High School Principal Joe Hurley told the school committee that Officer Melo has become an important part of the school's fabric, and is well-liked by most of the people in the building.

School committee student representative Christopher Sarli also offered his endorsement.

"I couldn't agree more, you're awesome," he said.

School committee members and superintendent Michael Messore thanked Officer Melo for his work, and extended the thank-you to Barrington Police Chief John LaCross, who has helped build a structure that allows for Officer Melo to serve the schools and the police department.

Committee members said they would like to see more data supporting the school resource officer's work, and Mr. Messore added that he would like to make it possible for Officer Melo to increase his work at the elementary schools. 

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.