Cops-on-campus program seems to be working in T.O.
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

About six months into its run, the Student Resource Officer program at high schools in the Conejo Valley is being considered a success, even if it means many more student arrests.

Capt. Randy Pentis of the Thousand Oaks Police Department announced some revealing statistics on what's changed since an officer has been permanently stationed at each of the local high schools.

There's been a large increase in what Pentis calls "selfinitiated activities," which include arrests, truancy citations and interviews with students regarding both criminal and noncriminal activity.

"It could be anything really," Pentis said. "If I get some information while working on campus and it results in talking to a few students, even if it's noncriminal and just something we think parents or the schools should be aware of, that would be selfinitiated activity."

The amount of self-initiated contacts has gone up from 173 last year to 365 this year, Pentis said at a recent Thousand Oaks City Council meeting. That's up 800 percent at Conejo Valley High School, 216 percent at Westlake, 163 percent at Newbury Park and 6 percent at Thousand Oaks.

"There hasn't been an officer on campus before now," Pentis said, with the exception of special enforcement units stopping in or detectives coming on campus regarding a specific case.

"If there were 200 percent increases after the program had been in effect for five years that would send up a red flag, but they've never been there before. These are drastic numbers, but that's fine, because of course there are going to be changes with an officer on campus," Pentis said.

In 2007, there were 86 calls for service from the district's high schools, down from 142 in 2006. That's a 37 percent reduction at NPHS, 33 percent at TOHS, 58 percent at WHS and 25 percent at CVHS.

Pentis said police officers expected the drop because of the oncampus presence of a deputy. The number of fights and expulsions, he said, has stayed about the same since SROs came to the schools.

"It's important people know that we don't gauge a program on numbers," Pentis said. "They provide a guide. But our goal is to ensure that students feel safe on campus and that they have an environment to learn."

T.O. Mayor Jacqui Irwin gave her vote of support.

"I have kids in the schools, and I hear nothing but rave reviews for all three of you," Irwin to the SROs present at a recent meeting.

Overall, Pentis said the program is going well.

"With any program, you continually evaluate it," he said.

"We've made changes throughout the school year and anticipate more. Although all schools are the same, they are all different," Pentis said.

"We want to be able to deal with those differences effectively."