Roanoke County Police Chief seeks additional funding for school resource officers

Roanoke County, Virginia – R.M. Poindexter, the Chief of Roanoke County Police, has affirmed that enhancing school safety is amongst his chief responsibilities.

To fulfill this commitment, Chief Poindexter and his team have been exploring potential avenues to finance additional school resource officer positions. Their aim is to ensure that a dedicated officer is stationed in each elementary school throughout the county.

In line with this objective, Chief Poindexter proposed a grant during the Tuesday meeting of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. This grant, if approved, would enable the funding of an extra eight officer positions.

Despite having successfully filled seven positions, the total requirement stands at 16 to ensure comprehensive coverage of all the elementary schools in the county.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the grant in a preliminary move towards securing the requisite funding. For it to officially be sanctioned, the ordinance must proceed to a second reading and receive final approval by vote.

Paul Mahoney, the Vice-Chair of the board, lauded Chief Poindexter’s efforts during Tuesday’s assembly. “We’ll have trained, certified people to protect the kids in the schools and I think that’s a credit to you and your staff. It’s important, very important,” he declared.

The following board meeting, which could potentially decide the fate of the grant, has been scheduled for July 25.