The Malibu City Council has unanimously approved reassigning a sheriff's deputy to serve as a School Resource Officer for the 2025-2026 school year, ending a three-year community push for enhanced school security.
The council voted to reassign one of the city's special assignment deputies to work primarily at Malibu High School, with authority to respond to incidents at Malibu Middle School and elementary school as needed at their recent meeting.
"I commend community leaders such as Kevin Keegan, Sergeant Bell, Principal Herz and many others in the community... and most of all the city council for hearing our voices," said Jake Lingo, chair of the AMP Security Council. "It's taken three years but we're here and so I just want to say thank you."
The decision comes after the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District expressed strong preference for a sheriff's deputy over private security alternatives that had been under consideration.
"The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District is very supportive of the sheriff placing a school resource officer at the schools primarily in Malibu high school," said Carey Upton, chief operations officer for the district. "The district at this point is not interested in private security. We find very many concerns around that idea."
According to staff reports, Superintendent Antonio Shelton was particularly concerned about private security because deputies have superior training in de-escalation and juvenile investigation tactics. Response time was also a factor, with the sheriff's department noting that deputies are better trained to evaluate situations and communicate effectively with dispatch.
The reassignment will not require additional city funding, as it utilizes existing resources from the city's contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The move is possible because two special assignment deputies were originally added in 2021-2022 to address recreational vehicle proliferation on highways — a problem that has since been resolved through parking enforcement.
The Sheriff’s Department assured council members that reducing the special assignment team from two deputies to one would not significantly impact operations.
The deputy's main assignment will be at Malibu High School, where statistics show most incidents occur, but they will have a vehicle and be able to respond to other Malibu schools as needed preserving the same number of Sheriff-staffed vehicles in the city.
Community support for the program was strong during public comment. Kevin Keegan, a local advocate, emphasized the importance of proper training and suggested evaluating the program after winter break.
"I believe an SRO pilot program is important for Malibu school's safety and security plans," Keegan said. "The National Association of SROs recommends that an SRO should be 'carefully selected, specifically trained and properly equipped.'"
Mayor Pro Tem Bruce Silverstein proposed a successful amendment to continue investigating private security options for the future, reflecting ongoing community interest in long-term alternatives.
The School Resource Officer will receive specialized training before the school year begins, including instruction in digital safety, human trafficking, mental health, substance abuse, de-escalation, behavioral threat assessment, emergency operations planning and armed assailant response.
The program will begin with the 2025-2026 school year starting in August.