Career Day Series - School Resource Officer

Officer Lyons, our School Resource Officer, came in to talk to our School News Club so
we can learn more about becoming a Police Officer.

What is your job?

I am currently in the role of Master Police Officer with Virginia Beach Police Dept
as a School Resource Officer for Larkspur Middle School. I also serve 3 elementary
schools - Windsor Woods, Windsor Oaks, and Kempsville Meadows Elementary
School. The schools I am responsible for sometimes change, but those are the
schools I currently work with.

What do you do on a average day at work?

I mostly work at Larkspur Middle School which is one of the largest middle school
in Virginia Beach. My day starts in the bus loop, making sure the students exit the
buses correctly and patrol the school throughout the day and in the afternoon. I
check in with the four assistant principals and the security staff to see if anything
is going on as far as parent problems, parking problems, or student problems. If
any students are getting expelled, they will give me a heads up so that I can help
with that. Last week when we had the student walk out they wanted my help with
that so that students were kept safe and didn’t leave the school grounds.

If any crimes are committed at school, usually small things like cell phones
getting lost or stolen - mostly lost - I have to take a report for that and make sure
that procedures are followed correctly.  

   

How did you learn to do your job?

First, I went to the Police Academy which is six months long. I had to learn to
shoot guns, do arrests, learned defensive tactics, learn to take someone down
safely, investigate crimes like assaults and larcenies, to have a basic understanding
of that. Physical fitness is important so we do a lot of running at the Police
Academy. And we write a lot of reports so writing is very important. You have to know a lot about the law because citizens have rights and you have to know
those so that you don’t violate those rights - even as juveniles. We also learn how
to interact with people and keep them safe.

What inspired you to take part in this job?

I was active duty military for 12 years, and in the military I was a helicopter
pilot. I joined the police academy in the hopes of being a helicopter pilot
for the police department, but that didn’t work out. But several members of
my family are police officers - my sister is a police sergeant in New York, and
my brother is also a police officer in New York. My son is a police officer in the
Navy - called a Master at Arms and my daughter was in the Air Force, but is in
law school now and graduates next month to be a lawyer in the Navy - a JAG
officer. So the law is kind of surrounding me.

Why do you like your job?

I get to help people. I get to work with kids a lot which is kind of a relief. I get to
help them out while they’re young and still like us. Many times as people get
older they tend to not like police officers so much or they think they’re a snitch
or not cool. But it’s fun around elementary students because they still like us and
want to be us. They shake our hands and say hi or give us a high five.

What is the best/worst part of your job?

Working with kids is fun, interacting with you, answering your questions and
inspiring you to do different things. Helping students that need help not just
at school, but with their families.

The worst part is seeing kids being abused or dying. Seeing kids at the morgue
- either from natural causes or through abuse is hard. We have help with that
though. Volunteer chaplains will come out and help us talk with the families.

What is your favorite tool?

My radio, because it can do a lot of things. Call people, ask for help, let people
know where you are. It has a tracker so the department can know where you are.

Have you ever been a part of an internal lockdown?

Not a real one. I’ve done a few practice ones, a few false alarms. We’ve
had a few bank robberies in the area and we’ve locked down the schools to
keep them secure as we searched for the bank robbers.