Kentucky law requires school districts to have a school resource officer (SRO) on every campus to provide security and respond to student violations.
Warren County Public Schools (WCPS) is going a step further with an SRO detective, the first position of its kind in the state.
As Kentucky’s 4th largest school district, WCPS has nearly 19,000 students, and that requires policing this city within a city. This school year, WCPS has a dedicated detective to not only help prevent crime in schools, but investigate when cases arise.
Josh Hughes retired in June as deputy chief of the Bowling Green Police Department. He didn’t hang up his holster for long, and was hired in July by Warren County Public Schools as an SRO detective.
"I stand in the same place every morning when the kids come in and I get more hugs in a day than I did in 24 years of policing prior to this," Hughes commented. "I’m an ally for them and they know that."
Hughes is assigned to Warren Elementary, but takes on investigations at all of the district's schools.
Warren County Sheriff Brett Hightower spoke to WKU Public Radio at Warren Elementary earlier this month. He said there are benefits of having someone integrated within the school system who has developed a relationship with staff and students.
“Previously, if we needed to bring somebody in to look at something, they were coming from the sheriff’s office but from outside the school, so when you know something and has commonality of a relationship, I think it puts everyone at ease," stated Hightower.
Sheriff Hightower added that having an SRO detective frees up his other investigators to handle cases out in the community.
According to Hughes, building relationships earns trust, which can produce tips and help thwart school violence. Many of the cases he investigates involve online threats.
“So often that’s the case now with teenagers and Snapchat and Roblox and all of those things. Sometimes I have to get a search warrant for social media," Hughes explained. "Prior to this system, the SRO would have to leave the school, go down to the courthouse, apply for a warrant, and find a judge. And in the meantime, he’s not in that school.”
There are also times when an SRO may need to go to a home to investigate a threat or a report of abuse or neglect. Hughes says that’s his job now rather than having SROs leave school campuses without a police presence.
Hughes says working cases in a school setting brings levity to a sometimes stressful job.
"A prime case the other day, I was working a case in which, unfortunately, an online predator had taken advantage of a situation. This case was particularly difficult, so I shut down my computer, walked outside, and saw some kids on the playground. I was playing on the jungle gym with the boys, having a jump rope competition with the girls," explained Hughes. "While I’m building that relationship with them, it’s honestly recharging me. That gave me what I needed to go back in and finish that investigation.”
The Kentucky Center for School Safety says it’s not aware of any other district having a dedicated detective.
“I just graduated from the Southern Police Institute. I had 40-plus officers from just about every state, reached out to all of them, no one has seen a program like this," said Hughes. "It has shown so many successes already.”
Det. Hughes will keep patrolling the hallways and investigating threats knowing his future is in the hands of those he serves and protects today.
