Alicia Gallagher

Officer Stephanie Cash is in her second year as an SRO at CPHS. “Seeing [students] grow over the years has been kind of cool,” Officer Cash said. “Freshmen that [are] all over the place and then in the next couple of years get a little more squared away and go to class and do work and start thinking about the future. Being a part of a student’s growth is the best way to measure my success as an SRO.” Photo Courtesy of Cedar Park Police Department’s PIO, Alicia Gallagher.

Before students flood the halls in the morning, a Student Resource Officer has already entered the school. They’ve scaled the halls, checked the door and made sure that those only allowed on campus can enter, ensuring that all students are safe while on campus. These often overlooked daily tasks are what shield students from danger, while fostering good relationships with the community and law enforcement.

Students often grow up with these ideas of having the future planned out, but those plans are not always permanent, and for Officer Stephanie Cash, prior to her policing career, thought the same. 

“At first I thought I wanted to go into something like the FBI and then I realized I didn’t want to be shipped around,” Officer Cash said. “It was just the thought of being a law enforcement officer as being a good job where we could actually help people.”

After eight years being on the force, Officer Cash wanted to try something different and after being talked into joining the SRO program by her sergeant, she agreed. Officer Cash went through about a week of training, and was then transferred to become the new officer on campus at Cedar Park High School.

“I thought it would be a good break from some of the other stuff that I’ve done,” Officer Cash said. “I saw it as kind of an opportunity to do something in the community and help kids understand law enforcement a little better, because I remember I had an SRO in high school that I really liked. So I was hoping to be [mentor] for somebody else.”

Officer Cash’s main job is to navigate and understand how the law is portrayed to students and how she can help them veer away from any illegal or unsafe situations, in addition to being a law enforcement presence for 2,000 plus students everyday. 

“It’s about talking to [students], making them feel like they can come and talk to me and not being serious all the time,” Officer Cash said. “There’s definitely a place for that I can be serious, but a lot of this job is establishing relationships and being able to have conversations and be able to be a little goofy and have fun with [students], too. It doesn’t have to be super serious all the time, unless they’re doing something bad.”

Officer Cash acts as a problem solver for many conflicts: issues with someone getting assaulted, mitigating conflicts, assisting administration with said conflicts and following up with ideas to help. 

“It’s not challenging anymore, but at first navigating juvenile law versus adult law, learning how things work with administration and when I get involved [or] when I don’t get involved, when it’s an official thing or if I’m just there to be a mentor,” Officer Cash said. “It’s not really challenging about that part now, I’m just making sure [all students are] safe.”

According to Officer Cash, being an SRO is not always about the serious things, it’s about making the school a community and furthering a connection between students and officers. 

“I feel like all of the goofy things, like [at the pep rally when] I made that ‘cheer [or] go to jail’ sign is it’s things like that. It just goes back to teaching that all cops aren’t always a scary thing,” Officer Cash said. “Even though we do have counselors here, some people see [me] as someone that they can talk to as well. And that’s the goal, right?
I want people to be able to come tell me if they have problems and not be afraid of the police.”

An SRO is an officer like any other, but specializes in juvenile law. They have seen what it’s like to be a regular officer as well and it helps them prepare and handle situations with children.

“Talking to [students] the same way I do with people like adults that commit crimes, if you tell people what’s gonna happen, they are a lot more calm,” Officer Cash said. “Explaining why it’s happening, what the process is, what happens after things like that. I think just having conversations with people is a big help.”

Officer Cash said that she wants students and staff to feel safe and welcomed on campus and that she will do her duty to serve and protect all students. She does not want any of them to worry about possible tragedies at school. 

“Say hi in the hallway or my office; my door is always open y’all,” Officer Cash said. “Anytime you have a question or you want to come say hi, just come say hi.”