Southern Tier Congressman Tom Reed has announced that he has joined colleagues to reintroduce the School Resource Officer Act. Reed says the measure will assist law enforcement agencies in hiring additional school resource officers by directing funds for cost-share grants to pay the salaries and benefits of SRO’s. In a statement, Reed said the Act reauthorizes the Community Oriented Policing Services or COPS program at the Department of Justice at $300 million through FY2023. It also designates 30% of COPS hiring funds for grants to pay the salaries and benefits of SROs. There is a local match and the measure caps the increase to $125,000 per officer position.
