HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Christian County Public Schools Police vehicles will be parked in front of elementary schools this fall, a visual reminder of the newly established in-house law enforcement agency. Amid preparations for the 2025-26 school year, Superintendent Chris Bentzel spoke with Christian County Now about the district run police agency being introduced this year, and how they intend to continue to deliver their promise of safety to students and staff.
In November of 2024, the Christian County Public Schools Board of Education voted in favor of establishing the CCPS Police. By creating an internal police agency, the district is able to independently hire school resource officers, providing them with more flexibility at a lower cost to the district. Prior to the upcoming school year, all SROs came from the Hopkinsville Police Department or the Christian County Sheriff’s Office. Incoming CCPS officers will receive the same training as previous SROs.
Clayton Sumner was announced as the director of school safety for CCPS at the beginning of 2025. He is a seasoned law enforcement professional and is the former chief of police for the Hopkinsville Police Department.
CCPS Police flexibility, prioritizing safety in schools
“With our police officers we have in our job description that they can do traffic control and traffic support, they can do home visits, they can do truancy support, they can do mentoring,” said Bentzel. “It’s a lot different in respect to the additional duties our law enforcement officers can have…we feel that it will be a great benefit to our principals and our schools.”…