The School Safety Program was developed to meet the requirements established by ARS 15-154 in 1994 for the purpose of providing funding to place School Resource Officers (SRO) and Juvenile Probation Officers (JPO) on school campuses throughout Arizona. The presence of the Probation Officer on school grounds is primarily for the purpose of delinquency prevention through implementation of Law Related Education (LRE). LRE provides students with the knowledge (laws and the legal process), skills (such as conflict resolution, goal setting and critical thinking) and values (such as fairness, responsibility and respect) necessary to become productive, law-abiding citizens.

The Maricopa County Juvenile Probation Department has 6 JPOs assigned to elementary and middle school campuses. As educators and role models, the JPOs develop positive relationships with students, staff and the school community. The JPO functions as a fair, consistent adult that students can go to with their safety concerns and have them addressed. By cultivating positive adult relationships, school engagement, youth programs, interpersonal competence, and caring school climates, the School Safety Program has the ability to impact what research suggests are most important to academic achievement and delinquency prevention.