Extra police presence at schools in Parker help students safely return to class

School districts in Douglas County started classes Wednesday morning. The Parker Police Department tells CBS Colorado they will be outside the schools in Parker to keep it safe for families and staff.

Parker Police Public Information Officer Josh Hans tells CBS Colorado First Alert Traffic Tracker Reporter Brian Sherrod the extra police presence is needed for students going back to school. Parker Police are looking for anyone who is speeding through school zones and anyone attempting to drive around buses with their stop lights out.

Hans tells Sherrod there will be a police presence around all of the schools in Parker. Parker police want parents to make sure they do not let their kids dart across the street in traffic. Make sure your kids know to look both ways before crossing the street and how to appropriately use a crosswalk. If you are in a rush, go another route. Fines in school zones are increased.

Parker police also say parents need to make sure after they drop their kids off, they still take time to slow down in school zones.

"When parents drop their kids off, then their brain immediately moves to 'now I have to get to work,'" Hans said. "You still have 90 seconds that you are in that school zone. Just because you dropped off your kids, does not mean you should speed away. Make sure you are slowing down and following the posted 20 mph speed limit.

Parker police tell CBS Colorado they will be patrolling the school districts for the rest of the week and all through next week.