Bucks County Sheriff and Commissioners Get Into Heated Debate Over SRO
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Fred Harran, Sheriff for Bucks County is in a serious disagreement about School Resource Officers in the county. His office was contracted by Central Bucks West to staff that school with a School Resource Officer for two years. Everything was fine until the Central Bucks Regional Police Department expressed an interest in staffing that position themselves.
Harran said that his deputy was well liked by the school. He declined to be rehired as a police officer, leaving the police department to search for a new candidate for the job. According to a statement by James O’Malley, County Spokesperson, he future of the School Resource Officer (SRO) position at Central Bucks West High School (CB West) in the Central Bucks School District (CBSD) has essentially been settled since December 2024 when the Central Bucks Regional Police Department (CBRPD) made a request to the Central Bucks School Board to take over the position.
Alex Lloyd Gross Delaware Valley News.com FILE PHOTO Then Director Of Public Safety For Bensalem Twp with Bucks County Commissioners December 2020.
“The County of Bucks was pleased to provide a temporary solution to fill the need for an SRO for CB West by providing a Sheriff’s Deputy on a two-year contract spanning the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years. Unlike a police officer who has full law enforcement powers, a Sheriff’s Deputy has limited jurisdiction. CBRPD intends to fill the SRO position with a sworn Act 120 police officer, which is the standard for this type of position. It is our understanding that the current SRO from the Sheriff’s Office was offered that position with CBRPD but declined. “
The Sheriff saw a need for a School Resource Officer to staff the Bucks County Intermediate Unit and wanted to staff that school with a deputy, after he was approached by the school. This school which is located in Doylestown is for special needs children, who might not be able to thrive in a typical school setting. When he wanted to speak with the commissioners, he was denied.
I wanted to do this the right way, I wanted to meet with them but they refused. I had no choice but to register to speak at a County Commissioners Meeting. I was given three minutes to speak, just like everyone else. I would like to think that they would like to talk about school security,” Harran said.. When he reached the three minute mark, Commissioner Bob Harvie turned off his microphone. Commissioner Diane Marseglia left the room, as did Harvie a few minutes later. Only Gene DiGrirolamo stayed. Anything Harran said was not part of the record.
Harran was brought back up by DiGirolamo later to answer questions. The Bucks County IU has 12 buildings and the SRO would not be responsible for security at the unit, but rather as a resource officer. Harran said the duties would be to coordinate between parents, students and local police. “In any instance, if there is an emergency at a school, you dial 911, don’t search out the School Resource Officer,” Harran said.
Sheriff Harran was furious at the fact he was denied the opportunity to talk. “Bob and Diane need to shadow Joe DiGirolamo (Bensalem’s Mayor) for a bit to learn how to manage a township”. Harran was the Public Safety Director in Bensalem for years before he got the Sheriff’s job.
During the meeting, some residents were not happy about Harran being cut off. Margeglia is concerned about the many warrants open by people that do not show up for court. Some people have minor charges and move away. It’s not feasible to all of them down. Harran said that his department has cleared about 3000 warrants. since he took office.
(Editors note, Fred Harran is currently running for re election and advertises with this news site).