District #429 Using Resource Officers
by Jill Amm
November 10, 2006
As the result of a ProYouth Task Force meeting last spring, and in continued cooperation in working with the Pontiac City Police Department, District #429 has invited police officers, on a volunteer basis, to come and eat lunch or be visible at recess times, to get to know students better. We hope this will accomplish two things. Our main objective is to have uniformed officers get to know students and for students to get to know uniformed police officers on a friendly basis to try to continue to develop a friendly relationship. This is due to the fact that any time a student is in trouble, they should feel free and comfortable talking to a uniformed officer. We have seen great benefits from this program so far. We have several officers, from both the city police and county sheriff’s departments, who have been actively involved in recess activities and also at lunch. We have also requested to have a full-time resource officer available to District #429, which we will be pursing with the Pontiac City Council, at a future date. Currently, we have a resource officer available to us for three hours per day. This individual works with the Jr. High and the other elementary schools in our district. We have had a few calls and questions about uniformed individuals being on school grounds. As I stated previously, we are trying to create a friendly relationship between our students and uniformed officers. When we contract with the resource officer, he/she will be considered part of our staff and will have the same rights and privileges that our other staff members do. We are trying to utilize resource officers to help assist in maintaining discipline throughout the district. We are seeing a continual rise in discipline problems that our building administrators are dealing with. We are continually trying to build a better relationship between students and uniformed officers. We are taking these steps because we are concerned about the safety of our students and your children. So far this has been a very beneficial joint venture between the City and District #429 and we hope to continue this venture. If you have any concerns or questions, please do not hesitate to contact myself at the Superintendent’s Office or any of the building principals.
