The Cary Police Department hopes colorful, customized police SUVs will help high school students better connect with school resource officers.
With the start of the new school year less than a week away, safety is top-of-mind for everyone. Some school resource officers in Wake County are unveiling a change they hope will bring them closer to the community.
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New vehicles featuring bright colors and high school mascots will be used by officers at five Cary high schools during the upcoming school year.
“The idea actually came from the school resource officers themselves,” said Sgt. Kenric Alexander with the Cary Police Department. “They wanted to find a way to strengthen their presence within the school, a way that they can strengthen that that partnership,” he added.
The revamping of police SUVs is an effort to help build better relationships with police and students inside the classrooms.
The school resource officer team created custom vehicle markings with the rollout of the new one-on-one school resource officer patrol car assignment.
The idea is to mark police cars with the respective school logo and colors blended into the Cary Police Department's graphic design. The hood of the car will bear not only the name of the school but its mascot.
“It goes a long way into preventing problems," Alexander said. "It gives students an avenue where they can come and talk to the officer if they are having problems before that issue can escalate into something different."
Currently, Wake County Public Schools has 75 school resource officers overall. In Cary, 11 are assigned to middle and high schools.
“Just with this step, it goes a little bit further into showing the students that the officer in their school is not just the uniform walking around. He's actually embedded into their school. He's a part of the school culture. He is in there with them to get through the day and to make that as safe and as fun as they can,” added Alexander.
The goal of redesigning the vehicles ahead of the new school year is to create a more recognizable presence, especially in high schools.
“We talk a lot in law enforcement about stepping out from behind the badge. And our school resource officers are very, very good at that and just humanizing themselves and having the students and the teachers and the staff see them as people, not just that uniform,” said Alexander.
The schools featuring the customized police SUVs include Cary High School, Middle Creek High School, Panther Creek High School, Green Hope High School and Green Level High School.
“We’re hoping that it is a talking point, that it gives the students some jumping off point, to walk up to the officer and say, 'Hey, I'm so and so and I really like your car.' Just to open that door to help break the ice so that the officer can build that rapport with each individual student," Alexander said.
In partnership with Wake County Public Schools, the Cary Police Department will host an official revealing ceremony at the WakeMed Soccer Park on Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m.