Round Rock ISD police chief to present department model at national conference

The Round Rock ISD Police Department has been selected to give a presentation on redefining school policing, a transformative policing model at the National School Safety Conference.

The conference will take place July 26-29 and is hosted by the School Safety Advocacy Council.

RRISD Chief Jeff Yarbrough said he and Assistant Chief Jim Williby will travel to New Orleans on July 29 to present the department’s four-pillar policing model, which focuses on school safety, racial equity, behavioral health and student advocacy.

“We're not about the criminalization of students for reckless, immature, irresponsible behavior,” Yarbrough said. “We're looking at behavior as a root cause and ... trying to identify those issues and address those concerns so that there is not a recurrence of those, either.”

Yarbrough said he feels his department stands out because of the four-pronged approach to policing on district campuses.

The RRISD board of trustees voted to create the district’s police department in 2020. Prior to that the district contracted with security agencies and local law enforcement.

Yarbrough said he was presenting at another conference when he received the recommendation to submit his presentation to the SSAC, which he said is highly selective.

“It is a great opportunity, and it's a great honor for me to go to the national school safety conference and provide this information on what we're doing here in Round Rock,” Yarbrough said. “We're seeing the positive impact here, [and] we're getting contacted by people from around the country about what we're doing here.”