Texas Border Business
EDINBURG – The Edinburg Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees recently honored the district’s Police Department for earning the national Security 500 Rankings award for 2018, which recognized the school district for its safety and security policies, and efforts to keep students safe.
“Congratulations to Edinburg CISD on its successful security and safety program,” said Diane Ritchey, Editor-in-Chief of Security Magazine, which conducted the 2018 Security 500 report. “Securing a school district, including its facilities, students, staff and visitors, is a large undertaking that requires leadership, innovation, dedication, and strong partnerships.”
Ritchey said that her team has been monitoring the work of the ECISD Police Department in the area of security, ranking the department among the top 30 school districts in the U.S. and the top five in Texas.
“I’m very honored and excited to receive this award because it demonstrates the hard work that these officers do on a daily basis, protecting our students, our staff and our visitors on the school district’s jurisdictions and properties,” said ECISD Police Chief Ricardo Perez Jr.
Edinburg CISD is the only school district in Hidalgo County and in South Texas with a fully active SWAT (Special Weapons and Tactics) team with 16 SWAT members, including a tactical medic.
“Edinburg CISD continues to show its leadership in this area, particularly with its recent accomplishment of having a dedicated member of law enforcement on site at each district campus,” Ritchey said. “It is an honor to highlight such a successful, resilient, and unique security program.”
The district’s police department consists of approximately 120 team members, including 81 police officers and 30 security guards.
“This award represents one of the departments that is the vital component in creating a safer learning environment for our students and for ensuring that our taxpayers’ property is protected from damage, destruction, and vandalism because officers put their lives on the line,” Perez said.
