School resource officers are replacing DARE
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

School resource officers (SRO) will play an important role in keeping Conejo Valley Unified School District campuses safe and students on a healthy track beginning this fall, according to a presentation at a school board meeting late last month.

Randy Pentis, assistant police chief at the Thousand Oaks Police Department, discussed the switch to the program that will replace DARE.

Studies have shown that DARE doesn't achieve its longterm goal of stopping kids from drinking or doing drugs.

"DARE just is not an effective program," Pentis said. "The SRO program is new to us, and I think it will have an immediate impact."

An armed officer will be on campus at all times and will also attend extracurricular activities like dances and football games. Officers will also be available to teach health classes, serve as guest speakers, talk to athletes about steroids and offer information to parents.

The SROs will meet with the principals of the schools they'll be serving in August to learn about any specific needs or concerns.

"Our No. 1 goal is to serve our youth," Pentis said. Having an SRO on campus will have a major impact on that goal, he added.

Pentis addressed the increase in school shootings over the last several years and cautioned that an SRO can't ensure safety.

"Many campuses have SROs," he said. "Columbine did. Is this program going to stop violence in schools? No. But it can prevent violence, absolutely."

Camarillo High School principal Glenn Lipman said that fighting on campus is "almost nil" since the SRO program was instituted there several years ago.

"Having an SRO on campus is very proactive," Lipman said. "You feel that presence on a daily basis, and it's just a wonderful feeling for the campus. For parents, there's a sense of feeling comfortable that their children are in our schools."

Lipman said he meets weekly with the high school's SRO and talks about any problems. The officer talks with kids at lunch and speaks in most of the classes.

A graffiti notebook that the SROs keep, Lipman said, has proven to be an effective tool in identifying most of the vandals, even though that can sometimes take months or even years.

Drug problems have also decreased.

"We have drug issues on campus," Lipman said. "But kids feel comfortable going to our SROs with anonymous information. We are able to do suspensions and arrests at the same time."

All SROs are asked for a threeyear commitment to a particular school so they can learn the issues and become a staple at the campus.

Board member Tim Stephens asked Lipman if there had been a decline in "deviant behavior" since the SRO came onto campus.

"Absolutely," Lipman said without a pause.