According to the Bexar County Sheriff's Office (BCSO), parents around Brennan High School and Southwest High School will see an increased presence of BCSO personnel, starting on Monday, March 20th. BCSO deputies, support personnel, and assets are being reallocated to form a School Safety Task Force (SSTF) for the remainder of the 2022/2023 school year. This is in direct response to gun and drug related incidents near Brennan and Southwest High Schools and/or involving students of the schools.
The SSTF will be concentrated primarily in areas of Northside ISD and Southwest ISD and will work to augment and assist the efforts of both district police departments. Various BCSO units will support the SSTF, to include: Mental Health/SMART, Gang Unit and Organized Crime, SCORE (Community Policing), Traffic, and Patrol.
Sheriff Javier Salazar’s Statement: “Both districts are great partners to us and both do an excellent job of protecting their sizable student populations. We recognized that both districts share common issues which we believe all three agencies can work together to address. Our level of involvement on the actual campuses will be determined by the school districts themselves. I’m meeting with superintendents and police chiefs with SWISD and NISD this week to determine their needs. For now, our approach will be a more pronounced presence near the schools to reassure parents that we are working with the ISDs to keep their students safe.”
An email address for tips involving criminal activity in or near both schools has been established. Anonymous tips can be sent to: SchoolTips@Bexar.Org
Additionally, BCSO will be hosting a public safety forum at Bennie L. Cole Elementary (13185 Tillman Ridge on Thursday, March 23rd from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. A similar event will be held in the Southwest ISD service area in coming days.
