Forney ISD Board of Trustees and Forney ISD Superintendent Dr. Justin Terry officially swore in 4 new officers during the October Board of Trustees meeting. These new officers will join the department in an effort to continue to expand the district’s safety and security efforts.
Formed in 2020, the Forney ISD police department is committed to creating an environment that fosters a partnership with parents and the freedom for the entire FISD community to maximize the potential of each learner. All FISD police officers are state certified commissioned peace officers. As such, they have the same authority and responsibilities as a municipal officer in that they have the ability to issue citations, make arrests, respond to calls for service, and document incidents that transpire in and around property owned by Forney ISD.
“The new officers have been through a rigorous interview process as well as an extensive background investigation to ensure the best fit for the district’s needs with the utmost regard for the safety and security of the students, faculty and staff,” said Forney ISD Police Captain Jason Saunders. “All of the district’s police officers continually train to learn the most current trends in campus safety and security and strive to provide the safest learning environment possible.”
Campus officers are also responsible for many other aspects of campus security and law enforcement to include crime prevention, education, criminal investigation, emergency preparedness, asset protection, video surveillance, and building access control. In an effort to provide the safest learning environment possible, FISD officers continually train and commit to the most proactive, innovative, and effective law enforcement practices the industry has to offer.
Forney ISD has campuses located in multiple law enforcement jurisdictions including the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department, Kaufman County Constables, Forney Police Department, Talty Police Department, and Mesquite Police Department.
In July, the district hired Debi Nixon as the Safety and Security Coordinator. Nixon, who has almost 20 years of experience in law enforcement, has been scheduling training for staff and officers as well as working with each campus on their Emergency Operations Plan and safety measures. Nixon has been working to create a coalition of Kaufman County School Safety and Security Coordinators to collaborate on safety measures and create uniform responses countywide. In addition to the upcoming state mandates, the department has also started offering CRASE (Civilian Response to an Active Shooter Event) training as well as other drills in collaboration with other county first responder entities.
