New Bexar County sheriff’s office task force created to tackle gun, drug crime in and near schools

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — More Bexar County sheriff’s deputies will be in and around a couple of area high schools through the end of the school year.

The sheriff’s office said a School Safety Task Force has been put together to assist Northside ISD and Southwest ISD’s police departments in direct response to gun and drug related crimes near Brennan High School and Southwest High School.  Students of both schools have also been tied to some of these crimes.

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar said he will be meeting with the superintendents of both school districts to determine their needs.

“We recognized that both districts share common issues which we believe all three agencies can work together to address,” Salazar said in a statement. “Our level of involvement on the actual campuses will be determined by the school districts themselves.”

Students and parents will see an increased sheriff’s office presence around the schools.

Tips about criminal activity in and around these schools can be sent to a new email address created for this effort: [email protected].

The sheriff’s office said it will also be hosting a public safety forum at Bennie L. Cole Elementary School on Tillman Ridge this Thursday between 6 and 8 p.m.  It intends to hold a similar event in the Southwest ISD area soon as well.