Arizona
Arizona getting creative to fill school resource officer shortage, but is it working?
PHOENIX (AZFamily) —With the start of the new school year upon us, the safety of our students is at the top of our minds.
The state is pushing to add more school resource officers or SROs, but as Arizona’s Family Investigates has reported, the police officer shortage has made that challenging.
The Arizona Department of Education said it has more school resource officers this year and is using off-duty police officers to fill some of those positions through a new initiative.
Dozens of school districts across the state that couldn’t get an SRO because of the shortage are instead using school safety officers or SSOs. These are off-duty police officers who sign up for the assignment.
The Phoenix Union High School District—one of the largest high school districts in the country—brought back SROs following an incident in September 2022. Reports of an active shooter on the campus of Central High School sent students and staff running. Fortunately, no active shooter was found.
However, it took several months for the Phoenix Police Department to come up with officers to give them.
Arizona’s Family Investigates asked Mo Canady, the Executive Director of the National Association of SROs, about that shortage.
“That’s a real problem. It’s easy for me to advocate for an SRO in every school in the country, which I believe we should have,” he responded.
His group held their annual conference in Phoenix this week.
He explained SRO’s do more than security, they serve as informal counselors and build relationships with kids.
But this shortage has impacts. It meant some SROs in our state had to cover more than one school.
Arizona’s Family Investigates asked Canady if he believed that “they can be effective in that situation.” He answered, “It’s better than no SRO at all. But it’s very difficult to be effective when you’re having to move around to different schools.”
Craig Avery, an SRO at South Valley Junior High in Gilbert, knows that all too well. When he started in that position eight years ago, he was assigned to three junior highs and 30 elementary and charter schools.
“It’s good just to be within a specific set of admin, a specific set of board directors and faculty, kind of focus my efforts and not be spread so thin,” Avery said. “Way beyond just the safety of the school, being able to educate these kids,” he continued.
To combat the shortage, state lawmakers approved using off-duty police officers. These SSOs could be at a school one or two days a week and don’t have as much training as SROs.
The state tells us it’s starting the school year with 301 SROs, up from 214 last year. They’ve also got nearly 700 SSOs.
“With the implementation of the school safety officer program, it’s given other officers the opportunity to see what it’s like to be on school campuses,” Steve Dieu, the President of the Arizona SRO Association, said. He hopes it could lead more of them to consider the position full-time.
The Phoenix Union High School District said it would have four SROs and two SSOs for this upcoming school year. They’ll each be assigned to two schools, and the district explains that these SSOs will likely be different every day.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Do you have a story you want us to investigate? Tell us about it by contacting us.
Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
Don’t miss these 5 metro Phoenix hidden gem restaurants
From Ethiopian cuisine to mesquite-grilled chicken, check out these five restaurants in metro Phoenix that have flown under the radar for too long.
A former candidate for Gilbert mayor has opened the first Arizona location of a Founding Fathers-themed ice cream shop in Chandler.
Brooker’s Founding Flavors Ice Cream is a Utah-based ice cream shop centered around the early history of the United States. Female employees scoop cones in bonnets and dresses; male employees wear tricorn hats and coats. The ice cream flavors have names like Martha Washington’s Colonial Cotton Candy and Alexander Hamilton’s Not Throwing Away My Scoop.
On a trip to Utah in 2019, Arizonan Shane Krauser went to a Brooker’s and was blown away.
“I walked out of that, called my wife Janelle and I said, ‘We will own one of these,’” Krauser said.
The couple had no previous restaurant experience, but decided to open up the chain’s first location outside of Utah, choosing a storefront near the intersection of Chandler Boulevard and Dobson Road. The store opened on June 6.
Krauser loves how the shop creates conversation among customers about American history.
“I love history. I love the Founding Fathers. I love the ideals of America,” Krauser said. “It’s an amazing concept.”
Opening Founding Flavors isn’t political, it’s a ‘labor of love’
Krauser is a retired lawyer turned motivational speaker who addresses topics including “freedom, the proper role of government and the parameters of the U.S. and state constitutions,” according to his website.
In 2024, Krauser ran for Gilbert mayor, but withdrew his candidacy amid scrutiny over involvement with a past investment fraud scheme and his son’s appearance in a video with the Gilbert Goons, The Arizona Republic reported.
Although the shop plans to host events celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S., such as one for Constitution Day in September, Krauser said he does not see the ice cream store as related to his political career.
“The mayoral run was something to be involved in politically. This is more of a labor of love,” Krauser said. “This is not political in nature at all. It’s an ice cream shop with an American theme.”
Details: 2560 W. Chandler Blvd. #3, Chandler. brookersicecream.com, 480-881-6100.
Reach the reporter at reia.li@gannett.com. Follow @reia_reports on Instagram.
Arizona CEO accused of stealing millions
Jeffrey Gottfurcht, the now-former CEO of Mesa startupo Cyber Dive, is accused of stealing at least $1.5 million from the company to buy gifts for his girlfriend. FOX 10’s Brian Webb has more.
PHOENIX – An Arizona chief executive officer is facing major legal trouble after being accused of embezzling money from his company.
What we know:
Cyber Dive is an Arizona startup that sells child-safety smartphones, designed so parents can monitor their children’s online activity. The company is run out of a business complex in Mesa, but the startup is barely hanging on after the CEO allegedly took off with the money to spend on his girlfriend.
Jeffrey Gottfurcht is facing federal embezzlement charges. He stands accused of lying and doctoring documents to trick investors before running off with at least $1.5 million.
On the company Facebook page, Gottfurcht claimed to be the first rheumatoid arthritis sufferer to scale Mount Everest.
Local perspective:
Red flags first popped up at the company on Feb. 13, with strange occurrences coming into the office.
Derek Jackson, who co-founded Cyber Dive, recalled the moment the discrepancies came to light.
“They mentioned to me something about getting routing documentation for funds from an acquisition deal,” Jackson recounted. “They said ‘where are those documents?’ He said he was gonna send him at 3 p.m. today, and my response was what deal are you talking about?”
Dig deeper:
Court documents show Gottfurcht used the money to buy his escort girlfriend a Lamborghini, a four-bedroom house in Miami, and a diamond ring. The girlfriend has posted videos on TikTok, but her identity is hidden because she has not been charged with a crime.
When asked to confirm if Gottfurcht purchased the car, the diamond ring, and the house, Jackson responded, “Yes. So it gets deep. Yes, it gets very deep.”
“It’s a huge gut punch,” Jackson said regarding the impact on the startup. “I think it’s been challenging to stay motivated to keep the company going because when this happened, Jeff drained the account to zero.”
At the Cyber Dive headquarters, half the workforce was let go. Jackson is now serving as the interim chief executive officer, looking for new investors to keep the lights on while coming to grips with the loss of a partner and friend.
Jackson stated that the total amount of money taken is closer to $4 million.
“I was in the army. I was an intelligence officer. I was targeting people in ISIS. I don’t even hate terrorists as much as I hate Jeff right now,” Jackson said.
The other side:
No one answered the door at the Paradise Valley home Gottfurcht shares with his wife and three children. Court paperwork shows that his wife is seeking a divorce, and helped turn her husband in to the authorities.
What’s next:
Gottfurcht was previously arrested in Scottsdale in May over allegations of domestic violence. He remains behind bars on a $250,000 bond.
The Source: Information in this report was gathered from Derek Jackson, and from court documents.
-
Dallas, TX3 minutes agoDrivers in North Texas struggle with Friday floods
-
Miami, FL10 minutes agoThree wildfires burn more than 20,000 acres in Miami-Dade, force road closures
-
Boston, MA13 minutes agoMBTA, state transportation chief apologizes for ‘insensitive’ employee hair-pulling incident
-
Denver, CO18 minutes agoMan arrested on suspicion of murder in Denver shooting near South Park Hill, Hale
-
Seattle, WA25 minutes agoSeattle fans pack waterfront hours early as USA defeats Australia, advances in World Cup
-
San Diego, CA26 minutes agoNASCAR San Diego weekend revs up at Naval Base Coronado
-
Milwaukee, WI33 minutes agoSouth Milwaukee homeowner fights city order to remove year-round skeleton display
-
Atlanta, GA40 minutes agoInjury Update: Michael Harris II improving but could go on IL
