MACON, Ga. — Kids and teachers are getting ready to head back to school, but there’s another group of people also preparing for the new year.
These days school resource officers play a bigger role than they used to, not only for safety and security, but also as mentors.
Sgt. Matt Giegler is a Bibb County School Resource Officer who is gearing up for the 2019 school year. On Tuesday, he walked 13WMAZ's Chelsea Beimfohr through Howard High School for an inside look at his job and what security measures are in place.
“We check the security of the locks. Most of the exterior doors from classrooms don’t actually have a handle on the outside," says Sgt. Giegler.
In addition to daily walkthroughs, he’s also got Deva, a narcotics dog who searches lockers and classrooms.
And this year, Bibb County School Resource officers have new toys that will also help them keep campuses in check -- drones.
“It does surveys of the roof and stuff any obstructions of damage or anything like that or anything that just looks out of place on campus," says Sgt. Giegler.
The new drones, along with the K9s and security cams, are all tools used to keep students safe.
"Kids are one of my joys in life," says Sgt. Giegler.
Corey Gobel is the Bibb Schools Safety and Security manager. He says a student’s interaction with an SRO can have a lasting impact.
“In a lot of ways, school resource officers are a child’s first interaction with a law enforcement officer," says Gobel. "It makes that child a better citizen in the long run, because there are consequences for their actions.”
And Sgt. Giegler says that’s the most important part — being a leader and a mentor while protecting students.
“It’s fun to build those relationships, particularly like when you meet a kid in elementary school and watch them grow up and graduate," says Sgt. Giegler.
According to Gobel, Bibb County has about 25 to 30 SROs, and they are all certified law enforcement officers. Gobel also says every Bibb school resource officer carries a gun.