SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER (SRO) at City of Hobbs – Hobbs, New Mexico

The School Resource Officer (SRO) is a sworn law enforcement officer, specially trained and equipped to perform school-based law enforcement and crisis response. Utilizing community-oriented policing concepts, the SRO works collaboratively with Hobbs Municipal Schools (HMS) to ensure the safety and security of students and staff. This service-oriented role requires a professional dedicated to mentoring students, disseminating safety information, and mediating disputes to maintain an atmosphere conducive to learning.

A central component of this role is building effective, trusting relationships with students, faculty, and community partners to proactively identify and solve juvenile-related issues. In addition to investigating school-related crimes, the SRO serves as an educational resource and safety consultant. This includes delivering classroom lectures on law-related topics and police procedures, providing guidance to parents, and serving as a bridge between the police department and the school community.

Specialty Assignment & Training

This position is a specialty assignment within the department and will be a permanent position unless transfer is approved by the Police Chief or his/her assigned designee. The selected officers will receive comprehensive on-the-job training and are required to attend/successfully complete the NASRO Basic School Resource Officer Course within one year of the assignment date. Additionally, this position will be required to attend other advanced courses to remain current on evolving safety protocols, juvenile law, specialized school-based policing strategies, and complete ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) on an annual basis.

Work Schedule & Events

This position is a school-specific assignment focused exclusively on the school environment rather than general patrol duties. The SRO is required to work a schedule that aligns with the academic school year to ensure a consistent, dedicated presence on campus during student hours.

In addition to the standard school year, the SRO may be required to provide coverage during summer school sessions and work various extracurricular events, including athletic games, dances, and other school-sponsored functions. Additionally, as a sworn officer of the department, the SRO is required to provide law enforcement support for city-wide events, parades, and other special events as needed. Assignment to patrol-related duties maybe required during the summer months.

To ensure that safety and mentorship remain uninterrupted throughout the active term, leave and PTO requests are generally approved during the summer months and school holiday breaks. Exceptions may be approved by the Police Chief or his/her designee.

• Provide a police presence in (HMS) to deter crime and provide a positive role model.
• Serves as the initial law enforcement first responder and for campus emergencies.
• Provides security for special school events or functions such as sporting events, or at the request of school administration.
• Performs law enforcement duties by patrolling Campuses to ensure the safety and security of persons and property, assists in controlling youth disturbances; and ensures proper notifications are made to management.
• Assist with the continued safety and security of the schools, including door checks, lunchroom patrol, hall monitoring, and monitoring of bus loading and unloading.
• Assist school administration with disruptive students and visitors.
• Provide assistance to students in crisis, taking appropriate measures such as direct intervention, referrals to counseling services, family assistance, and other means.
• Assist guidance counselors with various issues concerning student disagreements or fights.
• Attend monthly faculty meetings.
• Meet with school administration on a daily basis to share information and plans of action.
• Instruct law-related classes to students and faculty.
• Establish and maintain good rapport with students and faculty.
• Apply crime prevention techniques to improve the safety and security of the school.
• Act as a mentor to students to improve relations and decrease criminal/disruptive behavior.
• Serve on the school safety committee and other related safety committees as required.
• Attend various School Resource seminars and conferences to maintain an up-to-date knowledge of the best strategies for the School Resource Officer Program and a working knowledge of current juvenile law.
• Investigate crimes that occur within the school and those that occur in the community that are related to school activities.
• Communicate with School Administration regarding the appropriate handling of crime in the school involving students.
• Establish a system of crime reporting within the school to prevent negative peer pressure among the students.
• Establish programs/procedures to reduce truancy problems, including periodically patrolling youth hangout areas such as malls and other locations.
• The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment of the position.

Education and Experience:

• Graduation from an accredited high school or equivalent required.
• A minimum of two (2) years experience as a Certified Police Officer required.
• Must possess a New Mexico law enforcement certification OR the ability to obtain a ‘Certification by Waiver’ (NM law enforcement certification) through a New Mexico Department of Public Safety (NMDPS) accredited academy within one year of appointment.

Preferred Qualifications

• Four (4) or more years of law enforcement experience

• Two (2) or more years of School Resource Officer Experience

• Basic School Resource Officer Certification

LICENSING AND CERTIFICATIONS

• Must possess and maintain a valid State issued Driver’s License
• Ability to obtain CPR/First Aid certification
• Residency requirement: Reside within a fifty (50) mile planning radius of the City (unless approved by the Chief or designee). Take home vehicles will be provided for employees who permanently reside within Lea County, New Mexico. Employees residing outside of Lea County, New Mexico will not be provided a take a home vehicle and will be required to leave their assigned unit at the Hobbs Police Station.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES:

• General knowledge of modern law enforcement principles, procedures, techniques, and equipment.
• Ability to learn the applicable laws, ordinances, and department rules and regulations.
• Ability to perform work requiring good physical condition and ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with subordinates, peers and supervisors; Ability to exercise sound judgment in evaluating situations and in making decisions; Ability to follow verbal and written instructions.
• Ability to learn the city's geography.
• Ability to train and the ability to perform work requiring good physical condition;
• Ability to provide classroom instructions on a variety of topics including, but not limited to, narcotics, safety, relationship skills, de-escalation techniques, conflict resolution, and responsible decision making.
• Skill in operation of listed tools and equipment.

TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT USED

Police vehicle, police radio, radar unit, handgun and other weapons as required, baton, handcuffs, breathalyzer, cell phone, first aid equipment, copy machine, personal computer, and peripheral equipment, flashlight, hand tools, and other job-related items.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED

Works under the general supervision of the School Resource Officer-Sergeant.

SUPERVISION EXERCISED

None

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. The majority of the time, heavy physical activity is not required. However, a Police Officer needs to be able to actively respond to any situation in which the public or an officer may be in danger. The ability to physically interact with another person, including restraint, arrest, rescue, and defense of the employee or others is an essential function of the job.

While performing the duties of this position, the employee is frequently required to sit, run, lift, talk and hear. The employee is routinely required to stand, walk, use hands to finger, handle, and feel objects, tools, and controls; reach with hands and arms; climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch, crawl, taste and smell. The employee must be able to operate all authorized and issued weapons, equipment and motor vehicle.

The employee must occasionally lift and/or move heavy objects or people. The minimum physical limits are specified in the Protocol for Job Specific Tasks and standards set by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy. These are simulated through a series of job specific tasks designed to ensure the employee can lift 70 pounds floor to knuckle and 40 pounds knuckle to shoulder; lift and move a 150 pound dummy onto a stretcher, quickly run up and down three flights of stairs without exceeding 80 percent of the Maximum Percentage of Heart Rate (MPHR), successfully climb over a five foot wall, crawl 25 feet at a continuous pace, and walk the length of a 4 inch wide beam six times. The employee may also be required to complete the following fitness screening in specified times which are gender and age normed: push-ups, sit-ups, mile and a half run, flexibility and 300-meter run.

Vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus. Minimum vision abilities set by the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy are as follows: uncorrected distance vision should be no more than 20/100, correctable to at least 20/30; near vision correctable to at least 20/40; color vision correct reading of at least nine or more of the first thirteen plates of the Ishihara test; depth perception should be sufficient to demonstrate normal stereo depth perception with/without correction to the standard-100 ARC seconds. Minimal hearing acuity should be the average hearing level at the test frequencies, 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz will not exceed 25dB in either ear, and no single hearing level will exceed 30dB at any of these test frequencies in either ear. Hearing loss at 3000Hz will not exceed 40dB HL in either ear. State or New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy requirements shall be the minimum standards applicable.

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee frequently works in outside weather conditions. The employee occasionally works near moving mechanical parts; in high, precarious places, and with explosives and is occasionally exposed to wet and/or humid conditions, fumes or airborne particles, toxic or caustic chemicals, or extreme could, extreme heat, and some vibration. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate. Hazards consist of possible life-threatening situations.

The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.