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PUBLIC SAFETY Deputies will patrol rural schools in new program, but only they will know when Jackson County sheriff's deputies will patrol rural schools in new program Comment By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil Posted Jan. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil Posted Jan. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Social News Sheriff Corey Falls is deploying deputies to 20 Jackson County schools to keep students safe from shooters and other potential threats, but he's keeping the deputies' schedule close to the vest. "If somebody wants to be a threat to our schools, they're not going to know which one to pick," he says. Falls says the deputies will travel to different schools throughout the week, as there aren't enough in the department to station an officer at every school. "I thought with the multiple schools we have, if we can keep it random and keep it unknown as to who's showing up and when, then we could have a system in place that did two things," Falls says. "One, monitor our schools and keep kids safe, and staff safe, but also let the public know you're not going to know who's going to be there, when or why." The deputies will assist with lockdown and active-threat procedures, work school traffic zones and do random patrols around the campuses. Some days, the deputies will be in plainclothes. On others, they might be in uniform. "Instead of saying, 'We're going to designate somebody to each school,' we're going to designate a program where we're trying to monitor all our schools, and we're going to do the best we can monitoring all our schools with the personnel we have," Falls says. The schools include only those outside the boundaries of local municipalities. The idea didn't originate with recent school shootings, such as the October incident at Umpqua Community College that left 10 people dead, Falls says. Falls had presented his idea to the Jackson County Budget Committee six months before, during April budget hearings. He declined to release the number of deputies assigned to the program, but says it won't cost the department extra. Deputies chosen to head up the new division have at least five years of experience, according to a sheriff's department news release. They were chosen based on prior tactical experience and their ability to effectively manage school traffic zones and develop safety plans with schools. Julie Barry of Ruch Community School says having an officer nearby at different times during the week will make an impact. "It was reassuring," she says. "Our first priority obviously is to provide a safe place. The first-response team for a rural school such as Ruch Community School is not the four to six minutes you might get in town, more like a 15- to 20-minute response time. That’s a little bit daunting to say the least." Sam Alvord, principal of Pinehurst Elementary School outside Ashland, says deputies rotating through the schools during the week makes fiscal sense with the resources available. "That’s very sane. I think that makes a lot of sense," Alvord says. "We don’t have the resources or the desire to hire a retired police person in our school." Falls started meeting with school officials about the concept last fall. The sheriff's department will assess the program's effectiveness after 18 months, and make tweaks if necessary. "Anything we can do to deter any type of violence or threat is my goal," Falls says. Reach reporter Ryan Pfeil at 541-776-4468 or [email protected] . Follow him at www.twitter.com/ryanpfeil . By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil MailTribune.com By Ryan Pfeil Mail Tribune Follow @@RyanPfeil Posted Jan. 9, 2016 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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