Milford Weighs Effectiveness of School Resource Officer
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
So how do you measure its effectiveness, Milford town councilmen asked during their meeting Monday.
Town Council President Doug Ruch grilled Town Marshal Rich Miotto on how his officers spent their 220 hours patrolling the school over the past few months. The $14,000 pilot program will be evaluated over Christmas break to decide if it will continue, and Ruch said he wasn’t satisfied with the two-page written report Miotto gave council.
“My concern is because when the program began, my understanding was that you would keep a journal so we could evaluate it and either say it’s the best thing we ever did or no, there’s a problem,” said Ruch, who later asked Miotto whether any major threats were diffused or arrests made since August. “These two pages really don’t show me anything to take back to taxpayers.”
The report includes a one-page list of activities officers have conducted during their four hours a day in Milford School, such as roving patrols in and around the school, locker searches, discipline assistance, counseling students and even reading to younger ones.
“I have personally been approached by several parents in the community who wanted to tell me how much they appreciate seeing police officers at the school and they hope that will continue,” Miotto wrote in the report.
The other page of the report, provided by Milford School Principal Cindy Kaiser and Assistant Principal Ryan Connor, also lists officer services ranging from opening milk cartons for students during lunch to investigating an alleged assault and a report of a weapon at school – a sharpened tongue depressor, Miotto told council.
The report from the school notes that, “Parents have commented that they are appreciative of the police presence in our school and students are not threatened at all. We have enjoyed getting to know our SROs this year and they have been valuable to the safety, security and well-being of students, staff and community members.”
Miotto told council he was happy to say that officers hadn’t had to respond to any threats from adults – the program was developed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December – but remarked that “the question you’re asking me is impossible to answer,” since they can’t know if anyone planning harm was deterred by the police presence.
Council member Bob Cockburn, who works in the Wawasee Community School Corp., agreed that the success of the SRO program is hard to measure.
“Could you tell me how many robberies we would have if we didn’t have a police force?” he asked Miotto, who responded that they would be numerous. “How many? My point is, you don’t know.”
Cockburn also remarked on the connections officers have made with students.
“I’ve been in education for 40 years or more, and it’s those connections that are made that sometimes prevent problems,” he said.
The decision on whether to continue the program ultimately rests with council and the school corporation, Ruch observed.
“The way I see it, right or wrong, nothing on these two pieces of paper sway me to keep it,” he said. “It all boils down to the end of December and these other two gentlemen and the school board. That’s the way the cards fall.”[[In-content Ad]]
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So how do you measure its effectiveness, Milford town councilmen asked during their meeting Monday.
Town Council President Doug Ruch grilled Town Marshal Rich Miotto on how his officers spent their 220 hours patrolling the school over the past few months. The $14,000 pilot program will be evaluated over Christmas break to decide if it will continue, and Ruch said he wasn’t satisfied with the two-page written report Miotto gave council.
“My concern is because when the program began, my understanding was that you would keep a journal so we could evaluate it and either say it’s the best thing we ever did or no, there’s a problem,” said Ruch, who later asked Miotto whether any major threats were diffused or arrests made since August. “These two pages really don’t show me anything to take back to taxpayers.”
The report includes a one-page list of activities officers have conducted during their four hours a day in Milford School, such as roving patrols in and around the school, locker searches, discipline assistance, counseling students and even reading to younger ones.
“I have personally been approached by several parents in the community who wanted to tell me how much they appreciate seeing police officers at the school and they hope that will continue,” Miotto wrote in the report.
The other page of the report, provided by Milford School Principal Cindy Kaiser and Assistant Principal Ryan Connor, also lists officer services ranging from opening milk cartons for students during lunch to investigating an alleged assault and a report of a weapon at school – a sharpened tongue depressor, Miotto told council.
The report from the school notes that, “Parents have commented that they are appreciative of the police presence in our school and students are not threatened at all. We have enjoyed getting to know our SROs this year and they have been valuable to the safety, security and well-being of students, staff and community members.”
Miotto told council he was happy to say that officers hadn’t had to respond to any threats from adults – the program was developed after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., in December – but remarked that “the question you’re asking me is impossible to answer,” since they can’t know if anyone planning harm was deterred by the police presence.
Council member Bob Cockburn, who works in the Wawasee Community School Corp., agreed that the success of the SRO program is hard to measure.
“Could you tell me how many robberies we would have if we didn’t have a police force?” he asked Miotto, who responded that they would be numerous. “How many? My point is, you don’t know.”
Cockburn also remarked on the connections officers have made with students.
“I’ve been in education for 40 years or more, and it’s those connections that are made that sometimes prevent problems,” he said.
The decision on whether to continue the program ultimately rests with council and the school corporation, Ruch observed.
“The way I see it, right or wrong, nothing on these two pieces of paper sway me to keep it,” he said. “It all boils down to the end of December and these other two gentlemen and the school board. That’s the way the cards fall.”[[In-content Ad]]
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