Update on Youth Safety
SRCS & SRPD Joint Presentation
October 7, 2026
Outcomes
● Share updates about the state of youth safety in SRCS and City of Santa Rosa ● Highlight promising practices and trends
● Celebrate successful partnership between city, school and community ● Name ongoing challenges and opportunities
Safety & Security
Safety and Security
Security: Measures taken to protect against intentional threats and violence, both from external sources and potentially from students or staff Safety: Environment where everyone feels secure and valued, including bullying prevention, mental health support, physical security, an emergency preparedness.
History of Community Safety
● Shared Community Challenges across Santa Rosa
○ Wildfires
○ COVID-19
○ Increased critical incidents across Santa Rosa (2023-2025) ● Investment in Community Partnerships across Santa Rosa ○ Supported by Community
○ Violence Prevention Partnership
○ Reintegration of Gang Task Force
Community Practices and Policies
● District Safety Advisory Round Table
● Behavior Intervention Matrix implementation
● Violence Prevention Partnership
● SRCS and SRPD collaboration
● Creation of a new MOU with SRPD
● Annual Collaboration on Comprehensive School Safety Plan ● County Public Safety Group
Promising Community Partnerships
Violence Prevention Partnership (VPP)
● Monthly Operations Meetings
● Monthly Policy Meetings
● Student Case Management
● Mentorship
● Group Support
● Pro-Social Connection
● Interagency Collaboration
Not Exhaustive
Violence Prevention Partnership
● SRPD
● New Hope for Youth
● Street Outreach
● Landpaths
● CHOPs
● SCIP
● Verity
● Child-Parent Institute
● Community Matters
● City Transit
● CAPE
● Keystone
● Stepping Stones
● Seneca
● TLC
● Side By Side
● Bucklew Programs
In-Response
● Humanidad
Not Exhaustive
School Discipline and Safety Trends
2025–2026 Discipline Reductions
Full-year comparison: 2025–26 versus 2024–25
✓
KEY INITIATIVE
Pilot of the Discipline, Behavior and Intervention Matrix
YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE INVESTMENTS & EFFORTS
Drugs
Education Code §48900(c)
-38.8%
Knives
Education Code §48900(b)
-23.2%
Fights
Education Code §48900(a)(1)
-19.0%
Campus safety
Continued enhancement of safety and security measures
Community partnerships
Increased collaboration with local agencies and partners Student wellness
Expanded wellness and mental health supports
Crisis response
Strengthened safety protocols and response practices
Staff training
Ongoing training in student support and school safety
Discipline outcomes reflect a comprehensive approach to prevention, intervention, safety and student support.
School Climate: Discipline, Attendance, and Safety Survey Data Continued Vigilance and Response
● Alcohol and vape usage
● Fights
● Gang-motivated incidents
● Possession of weapons
Perception of Youth on Safety
School Climate: Discipline, Attendance, and Safety Survey Data How Safe Do Students Feel?
School Climate: Discipline, Attendance, and Safety Survey Data How Safe Do Students Feel?
Citywide Youth Safety Trends
SCHOOL SAFETY
FIVE YEARS OF CHALLENGES, PARTNERSHIP & RESPONSE
An overview of the evolving safety environment in Santa Rosa schools, the challenges we have faced, and the steps taken together to address them.
UNDERSTAND PREVENT RESPOND IMPROVE
School safety is not one program, one person, or one solution — it is a coordinated system.
| THE SAFETY ENVIRONMENT HAS EVOLVED
Concerns now move across campus, community, home and online spaces 24/7 — while serious incidents continue to require coordinated response.
3,780
SRPD school events
2022–2024
2022 1,029
2023 1,579
2024 1,172
VIOLENCE + CONFLICT
Fights, assaults and interpersonal disputes
THREATS + WEAPONS
Threat investigations and weapons concerns
BEHAVIORAL / WELFARE
Developing concerns and welfare checks
DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT
Conflict and information beyond school
hours
2022–2024 also included 4 separate student stabbing incidents and 4 loaded firearms recovered on high-school campuses.
SANTA ROSA POLICE | SCHOOL SAFETY
| THE SAFETY ENVIRONMENT HAS EVOLVED
Overview of Youth Safety Incidents in the City of Santa Rosa | THE SAFETY ENVIRONMENT HAS EVOLVED
Tracking Juvenile arrests across the City of Santa Rosa | THE SAFETY ENVIRONMENT HAS EVOLVED
Tracking the number of calls from Sasnta Rosa City Schools
THE SAFETY ENVIRONMENT HAS EVOLVED
Tracking the number of calls associated with the possession of a knife on campus | THE SAFETY ENVIRONMENT HAS EVOLVED
Tracking the number of arrests for a Juvenile in possession of a firearm in the city of Santa Rosa | SAFETY HAS REQUIRED MULTIPLE LAYERS
Over the past five years, SRPD, SRCS and other partners have continued strengthening systems around prevention, preparedness and response.
PHYSICAL SECURITY
Fencing • cameras • access / locking
systems
THREAT ASSESSMENT
Multidisciplinary review of developing
concerns
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
Safety plans • drills • standardized
procedures
STUDENT SUPPORT
Counselors • administrators • safety
personnel
COMMUNICATION
Parent notification • coordination •
information sharing
PUBLIC-SAFETY RESPONSE
Police • fire • emergency partners •
investigations
The partnership continued after the SRO program ended — but the way law enforcement interacted with the campus environment changed.
SANTA ROSA POLICE | SCHOOL SAFETY
| TODAY'S OPERATIONAL FRICTION POINTS
These are system-level challenges created by time, distance, separate systems and competing responsibilities — not by any one partner.
BEYOND SCHOOL HOURS
Conflicts, threats, social-media activity and
family concerns may develop evenings or
weekends.
TIMELY REPORTING
Earlier reporting creates more options for
assessment, support and intervention.
VIDEO + DIGITAL EVIDENCE
Obtaining, reviewing, preserving and
sharing relevant footage or digital
information can add time.
INFORMATION SHARING
School staff, police, students, families and
support professionals may each hold part
of the picture.
THREAT ASSESSMENT
Complex concerns require ongoing
multidisciplinary assessment and follow-up.
PATROL DEMAND + STAFFING
Citywide priority calls take precedence; call
volume and available staffing can delay
lower-priority school responses.
The challenge is connecting information, resources and decision-makers quickly enough to understand the full picture and intervene effectively.
SANTA ROSA POLICE | SCHOOL SAFETY
| BEHAVIORAL THREAT ASSESSMENT: CONNECT THE PIECES EARLY Complex safety concerns are best handled through an ongoing multidisciplinary process — no single person or discipline sees the entire picture.
SHARED ASSESSMENT
+ COORDINATED PLAN
SCHOOL
ADMIN
LAW
ENFORCEMENT
MENTAL HEALTH /
COUNSELING
STUDENT SAFETY /
SUPPORT STAFF
FAMILY /
CAREGIVERS
OTHER RELEVANT
PARTNERS
TIMELY REPORTING → SHARED INFORMATION → MULTIDISCIPLINARY ASSESSMENT → INTERVENTION → FOLLOW-UP
SANTA ROSA POLICE | SCHOOL SAFETY
| WHAT FIVE YEARS HAVE TAUGHT US
The experience supports a layered, collaborative approach rather than reliance on any single safety strategy.
SAFETY IS 24/7
School-related concerns do not operate
on a school schedule.
RELATIONSHIPS MATTER
Trusted connections support early
reporting and context.
INFORMATION MATTERS
Separate facts become useful when they
are connected.
TIME MATTERS
Earlier awareness creates more
intervention options.
RESOURCES MATTER
Response occurs within citywide demand
and finite staffing.
PARTNERSHIP MATTERS
Schools, families, support services and
public safety each hold part of the
solution.
The goal is not simply to respond better — it is to identify concerns earlier, connect information sooner, and prevent incidents when possible.
SANTA ROSA POLICE | SCHOOL SAFETY
Next Steps and Ongoing Opportunities
| BUILDING FORWARD: STRENGTHEN THE WHOLE SAFETY SYSTEM
Future work should preserve what has been built, address the friction points identified, and add capacity where it improves prevention and response.
KEEP STRENGTHENING
• Physical and Emotional security
• Emergency preparedness
• Student support
• Communication systems
CLOSE THE GAPS
• Earlier reporting
• Faster information sharing
• Video / digital access
• Continuity + campus context
DEEPEN PARTNERSHIP
• Strong BTAT process
• Clear roles + protocols
• Police / fire / school coordination
• Trusted campus relationships
ONE COORDINATED SYSTEM: PREVENTION + SECURITY + RELATIONSHIPS + INFORMATION + PREPAREDNESS + RESPONSE
An embedded SRO can be one layer of that system — not the definition of the system.
SANTA ROSA POLICE | SCHOOL SAFETY
Building Forward Together
● Deepening VPP community partnerships
● Community-wide investment in safety and security
● Collaborative Behavioral Threat Assessment Teams
● Town-Hall Presentations (eBike Safety, Fentanyl, Gang Awareness, etc)
● Community Events (National Night Out, Trunk or Treat, Vince Harper, etc)
Discussion