South Alabama District Providing Armed Officers For Schools

January 9, 2013

An area school system is stepping up security following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut that left 20 children and six adults dead.

Brewton, Ala., Police Chief Monte McGougin announced Tuesday that his department will provide armed officers to each school in the  Brewton City School system.

“This is in no way a response to any local problem,” McGougin said. “This is strictly as a result of concerns raised by national events and is a preventive measure locally.”

McGougin said Brewton officer Sgt. Hal Parker has been providing security on campus at T.R. Miller High for more than two years, and will continue there. Officer Heath Madison will begin duty at Brewton Middle School and Capt. James Hicks will be assigned to Brewton Elementary. McGougin said the officers will be present “anytime school is in session”, Monday through Friday, and will be present from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Officials said the city and school system will share the cost of providing the security officers.

Comments

4 Responses to “South Alabama District Providing Armed Officers For Schools”

  1. Sarah on January 9th, 2013 6:52 pm

    Way to go Brewton PD! I am sure there are plenty of crimes that are needing to be solved, and I’m sure the PD is short-handed, but as a parent to 3 young ones at the elementary school and 1 at the middle school, it’s nice to know that the shooting up north is being taken seriously in our hometown. That sort of thing should never have happened, and if there’d been an armed police officer at the school, maybe it’d never have happened, or at least not had been as devastating! Not only are all the children and adults at the school are dead, but the shooter and his mother also, and his family must be suffering through all of this too! This makes me, as a mother, feel that Brewton PD and Brewton schools truly want our children safe! Thank you for that!

  2. Fix-it on January 9th, 2013 5:09 pm

    Now Chief if you can only solve crimes….

    2011 stats —- crime index 366
    5 — rapes 1 cleared 20%
    1 — robbery 0 cleared 0%
    9 — stolen vehicles 0 cleared 0%
    84 — assaults 3 cleared 4%
    52 — burglary 0 cleared 0%
    215 — thefts 4 cleared 2%

    so out of 366 crimes only 8 were cleared. Looks like if we are a victime of a crime there’s NO chance of it EVERY being solved!!!!!!!!!!!!

    ACJIC.com to look up all these stats

  3. Brewton Citizen on January 9th, 2013 12:35 pm

    I wonder if Brewton PD is going to hire more officers to patrol the streets now ?? To replace the ones going to the school. They are already short handed. They dont even have a officer at the police department for complaints. They have to pull one of the street to take your complaint.

  4. Dennis HE Wiggins on January 9th, 2013 6:27 am

    Way to go, Chief!! I hope others follow your lead and example. It would sure make me feel better having an armed person in the school with my children. Maybe we need to send Monte to Washington and see if he can get the point across to Biden, now!!