NEOSHO, Mo. — A few months into their first year of having an independent department, officials with the “Neosho School District Police Department” gave us an update on how things are going.
Four officers are on staff and are being led by retired Joplin police officer Ryan West.
He says they’ve had to build the department from the ground up, which hasn’t been easy.
They recently were able to update their fleet of vehicles and their department logo.
All four officers now have their own police car, which, according to West, means even more kids are getting the help they deserve.
“As a school district police department, we can do some things that another agency wouldn’t have time to do. We can go do home visits and help with attendance issues. If a child is ill and needs to go home and the parents don’t have transportation, we can facilitate that,” said Chief Ryan West, NSD Police Department.
“These guys have done a good job of being in our schools, so we will see where it goes. We hope to continue to grow and make it better for our kids,” said Richie Fretwell, NSD Assistant Superintendent.
West says he hopes to continue to see growth and progress throughout the department.
