- March 10, 2025
In an ongoing effort to strengthen the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office’s presence in local schools, Sheriff Jim Manfre announced Wendesday that Lt. Steve Cole will act as the head of the new Special Victims and School Resource Officer section, which now falls under the agency’s Investigative Services Division.
Cole has a 23-year background in law enforcement, much of it involving working with youth. He said he plans to create a more comprehensive SRO program in Flagler County schools.
His top priority for schools is similar to that of many involved in the ongoing conversation about school security: Extending the SRO program to elementary schools, not just for security purposes, but also to begin building relationships with children sooner.
“The earliest we can get to these kids, the more positive we can be as mentors,” Cole said. “When they’re still young, and they meet that police officer and get through that fear kids sometimes have, they can know that police officers are there to help sooner.”
Cole said he will work largely as an administrator of the SRO program, a role that previously hadn’t been filled.
He plans to develop an assessment system for the educational programs that deputies currently offer, which center on drug and gang prevention, bullying, cyber safety and leadership.
“We have a lot of programs in the school as far as preventative education goes,” Cole said. “Where we fail is knowing if they’re really successful if we don’t track these people into the future.”
Cole was the Sheriff’s Office’s first certified gang officer, which allowed him to recognize local gang activity.
He served for more than seven years as vice president of the board of directors for the Florid Gang Investigator’s Association.
CrimeStoppers has twice recognized Cole as the Flagler County CrimeStopper of the Year. He has served as an SRO for 10 years.
Cole’s position also puts him in charge of the special victims section of the Sheriff’s Office, which heads victim’s advocate programs.
He has no immediate plans to change this section, although he noted that it is important that both the SRO program and the special victims section are now under the Sheriff’s Investigative Services Division.
“The collaboration of communication between detectives and SROs is important,” Cole said. “A lot of times, what happens out on the streets will be heard about by the SROs in the schools.”
Email [email protected].
