DURHAM, N.C. — The springtime is a stressful time for students and staff as the final grades roll in and the anticipation of summer lingers. School resource officers, like those with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office, are working to make sure violence in schools is declining despite the timely stressors.
What You Need To Know
- SRO David Moore says he has seen school fights decline in recent years
- The Durham County Sheriff’s Office’s SROs are working to build relationships with their students and provide access to restorative resources
- DCSO says their goal is to not put a student in cuffs but to put them on the right path to become better citizens
- A NCDPI report shows violence in schools dropped by around 6% from the 2024-2025 school year
School Resource Officer David Moore makes sure every student is greeted as they walk into James E. Shepard Magnet Middle School in the morning.
“A conversation goes a long way. It makes a moment, and that moment can change their whole day,” Moore said. “Their relationship is the most important thing to me.”
SRO David Moore with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office greeting a student at the start of the school day. (Spectrum News 1/Sydney McCoy)
“It actually helps the school become a safer place because they’re not so scared to come to me and just give me information about certain things,” Moore said, who is often called “D-Moore,” by students.
The Durham County Sheriff’s Office reports in 2025 the overall calls for service in Durham Public Schools was down from the previous year, dropping from 361 calls in 2024 to 274 calls last year. They say some of this decrease can be attributed to SROs being more involved with students and referring some cases back to the school’s administration.
“[Having an SRO] has created this environment in which our kids are trusting law enforcement even more, and that’s the one thing that’s imperative,” said Sheppard Middle School Principal Claude Archer.
Moore said he has seen a lot of fights at school during his tenure. But over the years, he has seen that number decease. Dropping from about a fight once a week to only a few the whole school year.
“SROs care about their kids and their schools. They’re compassionate about the job that they do, and they’re resourceful. They utilize all different types of programs within the community to deal with whatever issues are going on with their students. And by doing that, they’ve reduced the number of juvenile petitions that they have to file on kids,” said Captain Andre Hinton, with the Durham Sheriff’s Office.
School Resource Officers with the Durham County Sheriff’s Office try not to charge students who may be in trouble, but instead point them on a path of restorative programs.
“If I can direct them in the right direction instead of putting cuffs on them, we’re going to do that,” Moore said. “Cuffs, that’s not the answer for everything. Sometimes it just needed to be talked to, spoke to, directed in the right direction. And that really helps kids become who they got to become,” Moore said.
SRO David Moore speaking to a classroom about safety and what to do in the case of an emergency. (Spectrum News 1/Sydney McCoy)
Some of the programs include teen court, where first-time offenders are tried by their peers for misdemeanor offenses. Project BUILD, a multidisciplinary gang intervention program, or P.R.O.U.D., the Personal Responsibility to Overcome With Understanding and Determination, which focuses on life skills.
“A lot of kids that I’ve sent to the program. They’ve came back to the school, and they have not been the same whatsoever. I mean, just behavior just totally turned around, did a 180 in their in their life as far as their behavior,” Moore said.
Crime is decreasing in schools across North Carolina. The Department of Public Instruction, said during the 2024 to 2025 school year, the number of crimes in schools dropped by more than 6% compared to the previous years.
Hinton said, they are not only showing kids they are cared for, but changing the narrative of the school to prison pipeline, starting with their SROs.
“It is very important that we give every kid that opportunity to be successful and succeed and not give up on any of our kids, because if we look at the truth, some of these kids parents have given up on them. So many feel like they have nothing to lose and no one cares about them,” Hinton said.
“But when they come to school and see that SRO… [who says] ‘Good morning. Hope you have a good day. If you need anything, let me know. Feel free to call me. I can help you out, let me know.’That makes them feel good. That gives them a sense of purpose of being,” he said.
