Madison County Sheriff announces new app, SRO program expansion at Jackson Exchange Club meeting

JACKSON, Tenn. — Madison County Sheriff Julian Wiser announced the launch of a new smartphone app during the Jackson Exchange Club’s weekly meeting Tuesday.

The app is available on the App Store and Google Play under “Madison County Sheriff TN.”

Two deputies from the School Resource Officer Division also provided updates on programs being implemented in schools across Jackson and Madison County.

SRO program sees major expansion

The division has grown from six school resource officers to 31 since 2015. Currently, 30 officers are actively assigned to schools within the Jackson Madison County School System, with one away on military duties.

“We’ve grown a lot because of the Covenant School shooting I believe in 2022 and that’s what really propelled the growth of school resource officer programs across the state,” said Sgt. Bill Young of the SRO Division.

The expansion has resulted in coverage for every school in Madison County.

“From 12 SROs and one sergeant to 30 SROs, 31 SROs counting the one on deployment, 3 sergeants, an analyst and our captain, so we have also increased the number of school coverage, we now have SROs in every school,” Young said.

Training and additional programs

SROs receive training based on best practices from the Department of Education and the Department of Homeland Security. The state requires SROs to complete 40 hours of basic training and an additional 16 hours annually.

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office is hosting the 11th consecutive 16-hour training for West Tennessee area SROs.

SROs also implement Project D.A.R.E. to help fight drug abuse among school-age children.

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