Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Grant Will Place Police On Campus

Kristi Neal has been named the student resource officer for the Prescott School District.

Neal is an officer with the Prescott Police Department, with this assignment having been made possible through a grant written by the PPD.

The SRO is an asset used by the district and community in an attempt to address situations which occur in the lives of students.

Neal said the SRO program is nationally accepted and involves the placement of a full- time officer within the educational environment. She will be working in all three of Prescott's schools.

During school hours, the program will offer a variety of functions aimed at preventing different things.

Along with being an active high-profile officer, Neal will also act as a resource for the students, parents, teachers and administrators on the topic of law enforcement and law-related issues.

The program is a proactive approach, she said, to deal with the pressures placed on today's young people find themselves having to confront. This includes the use of tobacco, alcohol and drugs, along with peer pressure, gang activity, etc.

An officer in the school, she said, is not a necessity in the Prescott district, but any time an officer is around, their presence alone can deter negative behavior.

Throughout the nation each year more than 200,000 violent crimes occur on school property. Each year 150,000 students stay home because they are "sick of violence and are afraid," according to a national survey.

Each day in the U.S. 60 teachers are assaulted and 160 are threatened.

It is estimated, Neal said, between 100,000 and 135,000 guns are brought to schools on a daily basis across America.

"Although these statistics are nationwide," she said, "we can see the trend."

Through prevention programs, she continued, it is hoped these trends, so harmful to students and their education, can be reversed.

The grant is through the United States Department of Justice to implement the COPS in Schools program.

The grant total was $89,630, and follows another grant aimed at helping in the city schools.

The second grant is a sub-grant under the Local Law Enforcement Block Grants Program and is to be used for enhancing security measures in local school systems.

This grant, Reeder said, is for $5,004 and required local matching funds of $556, for a $5,560.

"These grants are very important because they go to help protect our children," Reeder said, "and ensure their safety at school."

The grants will enhance the PPD by adding an officer who would be available for emergency duty outside school hours.

It will also aid the school system by improving an already good record of school security and safety.

Prescott Mayor Howard Taylor expressed excitement about the grant, saying, "These grants help us guard our most valuable possession our children and therefore they are something the city can be proud of."

Taylor lauded Reeder and the PPD for obtaining these grants.