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Clay County Schools Police Department swears in new officers

When students and teachers in Clay County return to school Aug. 13, they'll see new faces on campus.

Thursday, officers with the school district's new police department were officially sworn in.

The department is made up of 47 members, including one chief, two lieutenants, four sergeants, 36 school resource officers, 3 relief SROs and one detective.

It takes a lot of work to start a police department from scratch, let alone forming one in a matter of months.

Action News Jax reported in February when the district voted for a new district police force, rather than relying on deputies with the Clay County Sheriff's Office.

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After the FBI and FDLE gave approval in March, the police department began the hiring process. 
The inaugural class began training June 6.

Combined, the officers have more than 900 years of law enforcement experience.

Officer Christopher Robinson, 61, will be at S. Bryan Elementary School.

Robison spent 25 years with the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office before he retired in 2015.

He said he realized retirement wasn't for him, so he worked two years in a detention facility.

When Robinson heard about the new police department in Clay, he said he jumped at the opportunity.

He was also a school resource officer in the 1990s, but he said much has changed since then.

"The school shooting, it's just unthinkable. It wasn't like that back in those days."

Robinson said he's ready to take on the responsibility to protect children and teachers.

For Robinson, it's not a job. It's a calling.

"it takes a special person. It's something that needs to be done because they are the future," Robinson said.

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