OAK PARK, Mich. – The city of Oak Park announced Thursday it is adding an additional community resource officer position to its public safety team to "expand their presence in educational environments while providing more opportunities for interaction with residents."
The city cited the current climate of school safety concerns. The position will be activated in July.
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"We continually try to build our community relations, particularly for those in kindergarten to twelfth grade. We are finding it important to connect with children at a younger age in an effort to make their first experience with law enforcement a positive influence and then build upon that," said Public Safety Director Steve Cooper. "We not only want our young community members to feel safe and secure, but to feel comfortable in approaching any one of our officers when the need should arise."
Officer Devin Benson serves as the department's lone community resource officer. The position requires an officer to maintain a presence in the schools and provide educational safety programs for Oak Park's three school districts: Berkley, Ferndale and Oak Park, along with several Jewish, charter, pre-K, nursery and Montessori schools.
"For our part, this additional position will allow us to provide a positive presence and influence to our developing younger generation," stated City Manager Erik Tungate. "Times have changed and our school children are faced with many more challenges than we encountered years ago. We are proud to be able to assist our public school administrators to serve and protect our children during these challenging times. Our children deserve to have safe environments and relationships with those who can support their needs."
About Oak Park:
The City of Oak Park is situated on the southern-most border of Oakland County, Mich., and serves as a suburban ambassador to Detroit. Incorporated as a city in 1945, Oak Park's current population exceeds 29,300 and is home to more than 500 local businesses, including corporate headquarters.