Could an Abbeville city school resource officer arrest someone at an assigned school outside city limits?

Plain-English summary

An Abbeville school superintendent asked whether a city police officer assigned as a school resource officer could arrest someone at the county's Alternative School, which lay outside the city limits. The Attorney General said the officer had jurisdiction to make the arrest. The opinion relied on a statute giving school resource officers statewide authority to arrest people committing crimes connected with school activities or school-sponsored events.

The letter contrasted that special authority with the ordinary city-police rule, which generally tied an officer's powers to municipal property or the city limits. Its answer depended on the officer's school resource assignment and the statutory connection between the crime and a school activity. The office did not describe the underlying incident or decide whether a particular arrest was otherwise lawful.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2007. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Historical summary

School districts and resource officers

Under the law discussed in 2007, a school resource officer meeting the statutory definition could arrest a person for a crime connected with a school activity or sponsored event anywhere in South Carolina. The AG applied that provision to an officer assigned to Abbeville County's Alternative School.

Municipal police departments

The AG distinguished the school resource officer statute from the ordinary geographic limits on city police powers. The opinion did not grant every city officer general statewide arrest authority.

Common questions

Did the Alternative School's location outside Abbeville city limits end the officer's arrest authority?
No. The AG said the officer's school resource assignment brought the arrest within the statewide jurisdiction described in the statute.

Did the statute cover any arrest a city officer made outside the city?
The opinion addressed school resource officers arresting people for crimes connected with school activities or school-sponsored events. It did not address unrelated arrests.

What qualified someone as a school resource officer under the cited statute?
The quoted definition required a sworn officer who had completed recognized school resource officer training and was assigned to one or more school districts with law enforcement, advisor, and teaching responsibilities.

Background and statutory framework

S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-110 described the usual reach of municipal officers. S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-12 provided the separate statewide arrest authority and definition of a school resource officer. The AG applied the latter to the officer's assignment at the Alternative School.

Citations and references

• S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-110: ordinary municipal officer powers quoted by the opinion.
• S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-12: school resource officer appointment, definition, and statewide arrest authority.

Official title

Concerning the school resource officer making an arrest at a school he is assigned to outside of his regular city jurisdictional limits.

Requester

Ivan Randolph, Ph.D., Superintendent, Abbeville County School District

Source

• Landing page: https://www.scag.gov/opinions/opinions-archive/may-9-2007-2/
• Original PDF: https://www.scag.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/randolph-i-5-9-07-os-8386-school-resource-officer-arrest-outside-regular-city-jurisdictional-limits.pdf

Original opinion text

May 9, 2007

Ivan Randolph, Ph.D., Superintendent
Abbeville County School District
400 Greenville Street
Abbeville, South Carolina 29620
Dear Dr. Randolph:
In a letter to this office you referenced that the school resource officer at Abbeville High School is a police officer for the city of Abbeville. One of the schools to which he is assigned is the Abbeville County Career Center and Alternative School. That school is not within the city limits of Abbeville. You indicated that recently an incident happened at the Alternative School that resulted in the school resource officer having to make an arrest. You have questioned whether a school resource officer can make an arrest outside of his regular city jurisdictional limits. Typically, pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-110, city police officers
...shall exercise their powers on all private and public property within the corporate limits of the municipality and on all property owned or controlled by the municipality wheresoever situated.... However, S.C. Code Ann. § 5-7-12 states that (A) The governing body of a municipality or county may upon the request of any other governing body or of any other political subdivision of the State, including school districts, designate certain officers to be assigned to the duty of a school resource officer and to work within the school systems of the municipality or county. The person assigned as a school resource officer shall have statewide jurisdiction to arrest persons committing crimes in connection with a school activity or school-sponsored event. When acting pursuant to this section and outside of the sworn municipality or county of the school resource officer, the officer shall enjoy all authority, rights, privileges, and immunities, including coverage under the workers' compensation laws that he would have enjoyed if operating in his sworn jurisdiction. (emphasis added). Pursuant to that same statute in section (B),

Dr. Randolph
Page 2
May 9, 2007
...a "school resource officer" is defined as a person who is a sworn law enforcement officer pursuant to the requirements of any jurisdiction of this State, who has completed the basic course of instruction for School Resource Officers as provided or recognized by the National Association of School Resource Officers or the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, and who is assigned to one or more school districts within this State to have as a primary duty the responsibility to act as a law enforcement officer, advisor, and teacher for that school district. When interpreting the meaning of a statute, certain basic principles must be observed. The cardinal rule of statutory interpretation is to ascertain and give effect to legislative intent. State v. Martin, 293 S.C. 46, 358 S.E.2d 697 (1987). Typically, legislative intent is determined by applying the words used by the General Assembly in their usual and ordinary significance. Martin v. Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company, 256 S.C. 577, 183 S.E.2d 451 (1971). Resort to subtle or forced construction for the purpose of limiting or expanding the operation of a statute should not be undertaken. Walton v. Walton, 282 S.C. 165, 318 S.E.2d 14 (1984). Courts must apply the clear and unambiguous terms of a statute according to their literal meaning and statutes should be given a reasonable and practical construction which is consistent with the policy and purpose expressed therein. State v. Blackmon, 304 S.C. 270, 403 S.E.2d 660 (1991); Jones v. South Carolina State Highway Department, 247 S.C. 132, 146 S.E.2d 166 (1966). As referenced, a school resource officer is specifically granted “statewide jurisdiction to arrest persons committing crimes in connection with a school activity or school-sponsored event.” Consistent with such, in the opinion of this office, the school resource officer would have had jurisdiction to make an arrest at the Alternative School even though the school is outside the regular Abbeville city limits. If there are any questions, please advise. Sincerely, Henry McMaster Attorney General

By:

REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY:

______
Robert D. Cook
Assistant Deputy Attorney General

Charles H. Richardson
Senior Assistant Attorney General