HOOVER, Ala., July 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Editors: Contact Jani Spede (info below) for full-access press credentials
July 2, 2013 -- HOOVER, Ala. -- The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) has lined up an array of informative and motivational speakers for its first national conference since the tragic school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
NASRO's 23rd annual School Safety Conference takes place July 14 to 19 in Orlando, Fla. and will offer sessions from the FBI, representatives of the Newtown, Conn. police department, and school policing experts and well-known authors and motivational speakers. Keynote presentations include:
- The FBI's Robert Hosko will lead off the conference with a presentation on various initiatives of the FBI's Violent Crimes Against Children unit, including those related to child prostitution and child pornography. Hosko has served as assistant director of the Bureau's Criminal Investigative Division since July 2012.
- Three members of the Newtown, Conn. Police Department will describe the response to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Presenters include School Resource Officers Jason Flynn and Lenny Penna and Lt. Richard Robinson. After their presentation, the officers will participate in a panel discussion, during which members of the audience may ask questions.
- Bernard James will provide a "National School Law Update." James is a professor at Pepperdine University who specializes in civil rights, constitutional law, and education law. He authored the textbook "Education Policy and the Law: Cases and Commentary." James lectures throughout the United States and Canada on constitutional issues.
- Lisa H. Thurau will lead a panel discussion entitled, "Connecting Cops and Kids." Thurau is founder of Strategies for Youth, a non-profit advocacy and training organization dedicated to improving police/youth interactions. Other panelists will include Bob Stewart, president and CEO of Bobcat Training and Consulting, Inc., and Dr. Jeff Bostic, director of School Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.
- Stephen M. Gower, known as "The Perception Professional," will speak on "Lessons Learned from the Nation's Top Cops." Gower is the author of nearly two dozen books, including the best-selling "What Do They See When They See You Coming?"
- Bobby Petrocelli will provide the inspirational closing address on turning tragedy into triumph. He is a motivational speaker who draws from his own tragedy, in which a drunk driver crashed through his bedroom and killed his wife. He will emphasize making positive choices at all times, even under pressure.
Last year, approximately 700 people attended the annual NASRO conference, including school resource officers and other law enforcement officers, other school security and/or safety professionals, school board members, school administrators and others. The association said it expects as many as 800 to attend this year.
The conference offers attendees an opportunity to earn 32 hours of training; visit an exhibit hall with the latest in products, technology and innovations; complete NASRO training courses on-site at no additional charge; and interact with SROs, school administrators, sheriffs and chiefs of police from throughout the country and world. Available training includes NASRO's Basic SRO course, ideal for the many law enforcement officers who are newly assigned to work in schools.
More information about the conference, including a complete agenda and online registration, is available at www.nasro.org/content/2013-nasro-conference.
About NASRO
NASRO is a not-for-profit organization for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators and school security/safety professionals working as partners to protect students, school faculty and staff and the schools they attend. NASRO is located in Hoover, Ala., and was established in 1991. For more information, visit www.nasro.org.
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