Michigan District Police to Increase Presence at Schools

Spurred in part by the deadly shootings last month at an elementary school in Connecticut, Shelby Township police officers will become more frequent visitors to schools in 2013.

Township police Chief Roland Woelkers announced recently his department will emphasize “community policing,” a concept that encourages officers to initiate more personal contact with the community. At the top of that list are schools, the chief said.

“(Officers) will be going in and meeting the principals, the kids and checking the security of the building,” Woelkers said recently during an interview for Shelby This Week. “We had already been planning to step that up a little bit.”

In addition, the chief plans to assign a second liaison officer to work in elementary school buildings.