Fall River school announces lack of School Resource Officers due to officer shortage

A Fall River school is highlighting the impact of an officer shortage in Fall River.

Atlantis Charter School released the following information to parents in a letter regarding their School Resource Officer position.

“We have been notified by the Fall River Police Department that Officer Scott Cabral, who has been our SRO for the last 6 school years, has been reassigned to another internal position within the Fall River Police Department (FRPD). The FRPD has also communicated to us that due to the current shortage of officers, his position will not be replaced for the remainder of the school year. Instead, SRO’s from other schools will provide coverage to Atlantis as situations arise where SRO intervention is needed. The FRPD communicated that Atlantis is not the only school in the community that is being impacted by the police shortage and that has lost an SRO and they are hopeful the SRO position at Atlantis can be reinstated for the start of the 2025-26 school year after a new summer graduating class of officers.”

“We want to be direct and transparent with our families that Atlantis received no warning that Officer Cabral was being reassigned, nor did we have any say in this decision. Atlantis fully funds the SRO position at Atlantis from our general operating budget and our commitment to fund this position now, and in the future, has not and will not waver. We want our families to know that myself and Mr. Beatty, our Executive Director, are strongly advocating against this decision with both the Fall River Chief of Police and the Mayor. We will do everything we can to make our voices heard regarding this decision to see what can be done not only for this school year, but for the following school year as well. In addition, we are also currently pursuing all avenues of other security measures for the school, including contacting the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office, MA State Police, and hiring a private security company to provide coverage at the school.”

“We will continue to keep families updated on this situation. In the meantime, we do want to reiterate that the FRPD will continue to be responsive to any needs that arise at the school.”

Fall River’s officer shortage, which has been an issue since around the pandemic, isn’t due to lack of trying as the department has been on a hiring push and recently announced a new hiring pathway.