School resource officers pulled from line of duty

Jonika Ringling, Editor in chief|October 28, 2016

The city of Lewiston’s police department pulled the two junior high School Resource Officers (SROs) due to department shortages. LHS SRO Robert Massey is now the only SRO in the district. He takes on his normal student count of around 1,000 at LHS, around 600 at Jenifer Junior High, and 613 students at Sacajawea Junior High.
  Sacajawea started the 2016-2017 school year without its previously assigned SRO Dave Gobbi due to the Lewiston Police Department’s officer shortage.
  Jenifer started the year with its assigned SRO Brian Birdsell, but he too was pulled due to the shortage.
 “It’s not a district decision,” said Massey. Its a tough time with numbers right now. Officers are resigning, officers are hurt and police numbers are down.”
  “It’s not so much about what is happening in the world or with school shootings,” Jenifer Principal Joanne Greear explained. “It’s about the relationship an SRO creates with students. It causes students to make better choices and provides awareness to our school. Students view the SRO as more than a cop — they view him as a person they can talk to, and that’s what makes me saddest” about the loss.
  At Sacajawea, Principal Phil Ulhorn intends to maintain safety.
  “I think we’re still going to have a really safe school,” Uhlorn said. “An SRO helps us work on a quicker response but we can still call the police if we have an emergency.”   
  Massey remains in his position at the high school.
  “There may not be immediate consequences from the extended absence of officers but it will have negative repercussions,” Massey said.
  The SROs are assigned to schools by the city police department in order to monitor criminal activity on campus and build relationships with students, according to Massey.
  According to cityoflewiston.org, “The responsibilities of a School Resource Officer(s) are many, but include the following:
•Interaction with students, school staff, and personnel
•Act as a counselor for both students and school personnel
•Act as a department liaison with various agencies in the area, investigate incidents that occur at the schools, and to conduct follow-up investigations that pertain to juvenile crime
•Act as a reference source.”