DeKalb County schools add officers, truancy unit

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — DeKalb County Schools is one of the only districts in the nation to have officers in elementary schools.

Channel 2 Action News caught up with school officers training for the new year.

Along with the hiring of 17 new officers, DeKalb schools is launching a new truancy unit to catch students skipping class and an emergency response team made up of 15 special officers.

DeKalb schools have more than 2,000 cameras to help officers monitor what's going on in every school.

Police also monitor the schools with extra patrols where copper thiives may strike.

Last year, burglars stole copper from 25 schools costing the district more than $1 million, and forcing evacuations because of no air conditioning.

DeKalb School Police Chief Donald Smith says they finally caught the men responsible for the thefts but will still take preventative measures to make sure there are no more thefts.

Nearly 70 sworn officers and 113 campus supervisors work together to keep kids, teachers and administrators safe at DeKalb schools.

WSBTV