First week of school to feature increased police presence

Las Vegas and Clark County School District police announced a “Back to School Initiative” on Thursday to increase policing in public schools as students return to classrooms next week.

Metropolitan Police Department Deputy Chief Reggie Rader said in a briefing that Metro and school district police will work with the Henderson Police Department, the North Las Vegas Police Department and city marshals to increase police presence in and around public schools to “ensure a violence-free environment.”

“Your Southern Nevada law enforcement agencies have come together to ensure a violence-free environment so our children and educators can focus on what’s important, and that is their education,” Rader said.

While he did not give any specific numbers or deployment information, Rader said a significant amount of Metro resources and officers will move to support schools during the initiative. Metro plans to use detectives, traffic officers, marked patrol officers and covert, plainclothes police for the first week of school, which resumes Monday.

Clark County School District Police Chief Mike Blackeye said the biggest danger facing schools in the first week is “the unknown.”

Rader said Metro worked through the summer to offer resources for kids to settle personal conflicts to avoid violence between students both during the summer and once classes are back in session.

Rader urged gun safety for parents who own firearms, and Blackeye urged parents to check students’ backpacks before they leave for school.

When asked, Rader said that officers receive special training for dealing with kids. But he only pointed to outreach efforts for preparing police to work with children, along with the rest of the community.

Blackeye asked drivers to leave a few minutes early and plan their route ahead of time to account for school zones or extra traffic around schools. “Please take that extra time to make sure that you’re driving safe around our schools.”

According to Rader, traffic officers will be “out in force” during the first week of school.

Both Blackeye and Rader asked for parents’ help to keep schools safe. They urged parents to monitor their children’s social media. Blackeye said parents concerned about the safety of their child or another kid from what they see on social media can report concerns through the Safe Voice program at safevoicenv.org.

Contact Mark Credico at mcredico@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Instagram @writermark2.