In an effort to stop school violence before it starts, San
Benito High School likely will soon have a deputy sheriff on
campus.
Hollister – In an effort to stop school violence before it starts, San Benito High School likely will soon have a deputy sheriff on campus.
Veteran Sheriff Deputy Rich Brown will be on campus as the district’s school resource officer as soon as county supervisors approve the plan, said San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill. He will bring the issue before the board at its April 26 meeting.
“It has everything to do with community-based policing,” said Assistant Principal Santiago Echaore. “It’s not just an issue of maintaining law and order. He (Brown) is not responsible for maintaining general order at the school.”
It has been almost a year since the district’s previous school resource officer from the Hollister Police Department was terminated because of budget cuts. The school lost its resource officer, Leticia Horta, at the end of last school year because HPD didn’t have the money to continue funding the position.
“I’m glad they’re able to work there,” Said HPD Chief Jeff Miller. “I think having a law enforcement officer is a good thing for the safety and general security of the students.”
In the past year there has not been a significant increase in campus violence, said Assistant Principal Duane Morgan, but it is good for the school to have an officer on campus to, “handle situations for us, without us having to call the HPD, which has limited resources.
Also, he said, an on-campus officer, “develops community relationships. Kids are the future community.”
Chief among the officer’s duties will be alerting school staff to illegal activities in the community that may spill over on to the campus, Hill said.
“A police officer can step in, call parents, visit houses and explain what students are doing off campus, and what they’re doing on campus,” Echaore said.
Also, the officer will be available to students and staff who have concerns about what is happening on the campus and in the community.
“This is a big, big deal for us,” Hill said. “We’re really interested in having him (Brown) be a piece of the school environment. He’s going to provide a resource for staff and students to come to with issues.”
Having the officer at the school for three years will cost $300,000, with half of that being paid by the sheriff’s office. The school district will pay $120,000, and the county office of education will pay the remaining $30,000.
Though he won’t be in full uniform, the officer will be identifiable as a law enforcement officer, and he will be armed, Hill said.
While, according to Hill, there has been no major violence at the school during the past year, an increase in reports of smaller incidents, such as fights, threats and drug use, has highlighted the need for an officer on the campus.
At first, students are usually wary of having an officer on campus, Echaore said.
“But they realize the he’s a part of the school environment, and not out to bust them, but to help them,” he said.
An officer on campus might make some students feel safer, said SBHS sophomore Jeremy Hutchins, but other students may take it as a sign that administrators think they can’t be trusted.
“It might make people feel offended, like they aren’t well behaved enough not to be supervised … I don’t see a lot of fights. It’s pretty quiet here,” he said.
Luke Roney covers education and agriculture for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
