The Habersham County Sheriff’s Office is kicking off 2026 with all school resource officer (SRO) positions filled.
Joel Compton has been hired and is assuming his SRO duties, placing an SRO in all the county’s public schools and doubling the number of HCSO SROs from six officers to 12 officers since last year.
School resource officers are carefully selected law enforcement officers trained to work collaboratively to provide a law enforcement presence in schools while fostering positive relationships with students, staff, and the community.
“We value our partnership with the school system, and I especially appreciate the hard work and dedication of our school superintendent, Patrick Franklin,” said Sheriff Robin Krockum. “It has been a goal of ours to fully staff these positions so every school in Habersham County will have their own school resource officer.”
Under the leadership of Habersham County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Aaron Autry, schools are covered by Sgt. Wesley Addis, Sgt. Wesley Littlejohn, SRO Evaleez Gonzalez, SRO Graciela Margolla, SRO Austin Martin, SRO Lynn Moore, SRO Kyle O’Kelley, SRO David Perkins, SRO Anthony Sullo, SRO Kristopher Stout, and now SRO Joel Compton.
The Habersham County Board of Education Police Department handles duties at Habersham Central High School, while elementary schools inside the city limits of Baldwin and Demorest are handled by SROs from those police departments.
Habersham County Sheriff’s Office SROs handle the remainder of the county’s schools, in addition to backing up those police SROs whenever needed.
Habersham County schools include Baldwin, Clarkesville, Cornelia, Demorest, Fairview, Hazel Grove, Level Grove, and Woodville elementary schools; North Habersham, South Habersham, and Wilbanks middle schools; the Habersham Ninth Grade Academy; Habersham Success Academy; and Habersham Central High School.
