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Editor’s Note: This story has been edited to reflect a clarification about weapons placed in Amnesty Opportunity boxes. 

Much like students going to orientation before the start of a new school year, school resource officers (SRO) spent last Thursday visiting campuses in Beaufort County to meet principals, teachers and familiarize themselves with the campuses in preparation for the first day of school on Monday Aug. 26. 

Sheriff Scott Hammonds said 12 SROs spent the summer learning about crisis intervention tactics, narcan deployment and receiving training on Beaufort County’s A.C.E. of Hearts. A.C.E. of Hearts training teaches deputies how to serve and protect the county’s most vulnerable populations – Animals, Children and the Elderly. In the context of school campuses, ACE of Hearts training is useful in determining if a child is being abused or is malnourished. 

Hammonds said SROs spent “hundreds” of hours doing solo response exercise training. These training teach officers what to do if a dangerous situation arises and they are alone. Officers also completed SCAT training, or Subject Control Arrest Techniques. This is a type of training that teaches officers how to use force options, retain weapons from suspects and defend themselves in detention facilities. 

During the summer, SROs learned how to conduct safety checks. To date, SROs made 1,700 safety checks to randomly assigned schools in Beaufort County. This included private schools. Safety checks are also useful in dissuading a person from making a school a target if a deputy is present, Hammonds said. 

In its first year back in Beaufort County public schools since 2021, BCSO would like to implement a new initiative called an Amnesty Opportunity. Students can anonymously place paraphernalia they should not have into an Amnesty Opportunity box. 

“If they put the paraphernalia into the amnesty box of their own free will, there’s no paperwork, no file,” Hammonds said. 

There’s no paperwork or punishment for students who take advantage of it, because he would like to see students make the right choice without the threat of disciplinary action like suspension or arrest. “Still not looking for penalty, because that’s the trust I want these kids to know.” 

Beaufort County Schools Superintendent Dr. Matthew Cheeseman defined what paraphernalia students can place into an Amnesty Opportunity box. Students can place vapes and/or pocket knives into the box before entering a school, without repercussions. Guns are excluded from Amnesty Opportunity boxes, Cheeseman said. Beaufort County Schools maintains a zero tolerance policy on guns brought to a school campus. Should a student bring a gun to campus, their principal will send a recommendation to Cheeseman either suspending the student for 365 days or be expelled depending on the nature of the situation, per Beaufort County Schools’ policy manual. Amnesty Opportunity boxes would remain locked and under the sole supervision of a school resource officer or deputy with Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. 

Hammonds added that he does not want to hurt students’ futures; however, if they “violate” the Amnesty Opportunity then he’ll proceed with protocol. 

When asked what are the primary safety concerns for the 2024-2025 school year, Hammonds said it would be “exciting” to be able to say SROs and the school system are not anticipating any safety concerns; however, Hammonds knows to not be naive. There will be safety concerns which is why SROs undergo many months of training so they can be prepared for whatever may happen, he said. “That’s the uniqueness of law enforcement. You never know what you get when you put that badge on, but you have to be ready for all of it.” 

“That’s why we trained for the last many months – specifically toward what we may discover on day one of school,” Hammonds continued.