Opinion by Sheriff Troy Wolbersen, published in the October 15, 2025 edition of The Echo Press
This is the third time that I have written about the topic of keeping our schools safe from school shootings and violence. My hopes are that I never feel the need to write about it again.
We, as a nation, continue to fail our children by not securing our schools to the point that this type of violence becomes a thing of the past. Our local communities and school districts have the ability to come up with solutions to keep children and staff in our schools safe. We can voice our opinions through respectful meetings and conversations to determine what those solutions might be.
This is not to say that nothing has been done to make our schools safer. Our schools have done several things to mitigate risks. What I am saying is that more can be done and needs to be done to mitigate risks. Additional security measures cost money, and I believe our local people can help determine what needs to be done immediately and, in the future, and at what financial cost.
Our legislators at the state and national level cannot come to an agreement on what needs to be done, but we can do that at local levels. Physical security of our schools is something we can solve locally without becoming entangled in political arguments about gun ownership and other topics.
County boards, city councils and school boards have made important decisions locally to make our schools safer. One of the things they have done is support the commitment of personnel to the role of School Resource Officers (SROs) which places peace officers inside local schools.
The Douglas County Board of Commissioners recently voted to support my office with assigning a Deputy Sheriff specifically to outdoor safety and security of local schools and school zones. That deputy observes the exterior surroundings of schools and school grounds for potential threats. The deputy also provides traffic safety in the school zones ensuring that vehicles are traveling through the school zones in a safe manner while safeguarding that pedestrians and bike riders can cross and ride on the street safely.
This is an area that I believe is valuable for physical security of our students and staff and can continue to be increased. Visible security measures like this can be implemented immediately. Marked squad cars and uniformed armed personnel act as a deterrent to people that may be considering acts of violence towards our students and school staff. This type of security could also be provided by private companies although they would not be able to enforce traffic laws on public roads in school zones.
Cameras are another area that can enhance school security. Our schools currently utilize cameras. The presence of cameras can deter less serious behaviors of students but probably would not deter a person that is motivated to commit serious acts of violence against students and staff.
Cameras that are not monitored are simply part of a video recording system. Camera technology has changed dramatically in recent years. Cameras that utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) can detect threatening objects and behaviors and send alerts to a person or persons. These additional camera capabilities and personnel do come with additional financial costs. Cameras with AI capabilities are a physical security measure that can be put in place in a relatively short amount of time.
Locally, people can decide to make safety and security improvements for our students and school staff, and it can be done from the local level throughout our nation. We do not have to wait for legislative changes that may or may not make our schools safer.
If I ever feel the need to write about school safety again, I want the article to be about how nationwide, local community members and leaders supported safety measures for our schools that have completely eliminated acts of violence against students and staff.
Troy Wolbersen is the Douglas County sheriff. “In the Know” is a rotating column written by community leaders from the Douglas County area.