Many people at Langley don’t have an idea of what it means to be a Student Resource Officer (SRO), especially at Langley High School. Langley’s new SRO, Officer Anthony Campos, believes a necessary part of his job is to interact with and be part of the school community.

“I try to interact with staff and students in a positive manner, and ensure that everybody in the school is safe,” Campos said. 

Campos makes an effort to be kind and interactive with the Langley students, whether that is dapping them up or just chatting with them about what’s going on in their lives or at high school. 

 “I try and say ‘hi’ or ‘good morning’, and I wave to others,” Campos said. “ I go to the lunchrooms and I am also out there for dismissal. I really just try and show them that I’m around so that they feel like they can come to me if there is ever a problem.”

Student Resource Officers are tasked with a large role in high school. “[The SRO] is the liaison between Langley High School and the community,”Langley Safety and Security expert Mark Rogers said.“If anything comes in as far as need of police services at Langley, they go to the SRO first instead of just calling the dispatch center and sending any old police officer. […]They contact the SRO if anything happens here at Langley with not just the staff and students, but also the surrounding community too.”

The SRO are also tasked with investigating any criminal complaints at the high school. According to Rogers, the SRO handles any duties regarding any accidents in the high school parking lot and facilitates the exchange of information with the drivers. 

Campos, as the replacement for long time SRO Officer John Morris, is attempting to create new connections with students at Langley can be challenging, since he is brand new to the school. Officer Campos understands this, and does his part in helping to create a connected group of people at Langley High School. 

Campos grew up in Fairfax Country, close to Langley in the northern Virginia area. He attended Rocky Run Middle School and graduated from Chantilly High School.

 “The reason I became a police officer was because my SRO came into my middle school class and started talking about her job,” Campos said. This had an immediate impact on him and his aspirations. “I went home that day and I told my mom, ‘I’m going to grow up and I’m going to be a police officer’” 

The SRO program had a very large impact on Officer Campos. 

“Becoming an SRO is my way of giving back to the SRO program”. Campos said.

Officer Campos also states that one of his goals is to show people that police officers are friendly. 

“I try to show the staff and students that [police officers] are people too.” Campos said. 

Officer Campos believes that the SRO program is important to the local community. 

“I truly believe that the SRO program is necessary for the future of law enforcement but also just for mixing law enforcement and civilians together and showing that we’re all one” Campos said. 

“I just wanted a change of pace and I wanted to get to meet some new people.” Campos said, “[At Langley] it is a little bit different from where I was before. I worked at Herndon High School previously, I worked patrol in Reston, so this is a little different, and a little farther away.” 

Langley student Izzy Lee says, “I think it might take some time for people to get used to a new face around the school”

When asked why the SRO needs to stay in uniform during the school day, Officer Campos said, “Our uniform ensures our presence. Our presence is our uniform, and it shows that we work for Fairfax County and it shows all the equipment that we have. We’re very visible with all of our equipment on,” Campos said. 

Join the Langley community as we wish Officer Morris the best throughout his retirement from the Fairfax County Police Department and as we welcome a new face at Langley High School.