Although the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”) establishes a comprehensive registration process and reporting system, the Act specifies that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) alone does not ensure compliance with industry regulations. All stock exchanges must register with the SEC pursuant to Section 5 of the Exchange Act. Section 6 sets out the requirements for registration, including the requirement that all exchanges establish a regulatory regime for their members in the form of exchange rules. School Resource Officer programs have been in place across the country for many decades. The National Association of School Resource Officers credits Flint Michigan with the birthplace of the School Resource Officer program. School resource worker programmes have been implemented in all 50 states; Florida and North Carolina are two that have statewide programs that have been around for many years. While there is no exact definition of an SRO, there are common practices that define what a true school resource officer does. As it is not necessary to use the term SRO or School Resource Officer, several police services have changed or changed the title. The term “EFO” or “Educational Facilities Officer” may be replaced as appropriate.
Current practices define what an SRO is, not the acronym you use. The U.S. Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Fact Sheet #5 of March 2001 defines a School Resource Officer (SRO) as “a career law enforcement officer with sworn authority assigned by the employing police department to work in a school in collaboration with school and community organizations.” The Centre for the Prevention of Violence in Schools further defines an SRO as “a certified law enforcement officer permanently assigned to serve a school or group of schools. The SRO is specifically trained for three roles: Enforcement Officer; Legal adviser; and law professors. If we are looking for a definition of what a school resource officer is; We need to look at the philosophy behind the program. A mix of the two definitions may better describe a school resource officer – a sworn law enforcement officer assigned to a long-term school. The Subregional Office is specially trained and performs three main functions: law enforcement officer; Legal adviser; and legal pedagogue. In addition, the SRO works as a resource with the school and the community. An SRO is typically formed by an industry or occupational group to oversee activities within that industry or profession.
As such, SROs can admit, reprimand or expel members based on established rules and criteria. As a result, SROs have put in place oversight, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms to ensure that their members comply with the standards. Until recently, each exchange formed an SRO. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) was the largest and best known. In contrast, the only securities association registered with the SEC was the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD). In July 2007, the SEC approved the merger of NASD and NYSE regulatory operations to form the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). The objective was to create a single, effective regulator that reduces costs for members and effectively protects investors by combining the regulatory activities of the two SROs. FINRA has initiated a process to consolidate the rules of each SRO. FINRA also provides a unique forum where investors can seek arbitration for claims they have against brokerage firms and company employees. Another task of SROs is to inform investors about appropriate business practices.
The SRO provides information and allows input on any area of interest or concern, which may include fraud or other unethical industry activities. The SRO can also help investors understand the performance of their investments and advise them on how to mitigate potential risks associated with the securities industry. Harassment hearings are conducted before the Office of Trials and Administrative Hearings (OATH) without formal evidentiary rules.10 Unless the landlord has received affidavits from all new tenants present and identifiable that there has been no harassment, the majority of these hearings refuse to issue the CONH.11 There is a legal presumption that acts of harassment are committed with the intent to induce lawful residents to: to leave their dwelling or tenure rights. If such conduct was the conduct of a previous owner, regardless of fault or lack thereof, the harassment of the former owner is attributable to the new owner. For example, if the previous owner did not provide heating and other essential services during the three-year investigation period, the new owner of the CONH will be refused.17 To obtain a CONH, the owner of the SRO building must contact HPD. Upon receipt of the application, the Commissioner issues a seven-day notice to inform residents, if any, and the owner that an investigation will be initiated. This gives inmates 30 days to comment on their living conditions, particularly if the resident feels there has been some form of harassment.
