COUNTY SCHOOLS ADD 2ND OFFICER

Spike In Criminal Charges Against Students Brings Move

Numbers of students being criminally charged in the Daviess County Public Schools spiked significantly during the last half of the school year.

There doesn't appear to be a single reason for the increase, and school administrators said no policy regarding student conduct has been changed that would explain the increase.  Still, the numbers of students charged during the first five months of 2004 at all three county high schools is in stark contrast to the previous three years.

Across the board, at Apollo, Daviess County and Beacon Central, the number of students charged in 2004 exceeds the totals from the three previous years combined, according to records from the Daviess County Sheriff's Department.

"We've got the same numbers," said Chuck Green, director of student services for county schools.  "It absolutely concerns us.  We are aware of it and putting things in place to deal with that issue.  We are continuing to take that tough, hard-line approach and be proactive and do anything we can do."

The mix of felony and misdemeanor charges stemmed from fights, drugs, vandalism, thefts and threats.

Green said that administrators are preparing a variety of strategies for the fall including drug and alcohol curriculum for all high school and middle school students.  Thirty teachers are undergoing specialized training regarding substance abuse.  The school system also hired a person for the first time in the 2003-2004 school year to serve as a drug and alcohol mentoring liaison.

The most significant change is expected at Daviess County High School, which will have its first school resource officer beginning in the fall.  The addition of the officer will mean that both Apollo and Daviess County high schools will have officers on location.  Previously, a deputy based at Apollo responded to other county schools when needed.  The Apollo deputy has been there since the late 1990s.

The most significant change is expected at Daviess County High School, which will have its first school resource officer beginning in the fall.  The addition of the officer will mean that both Apollo and Daviess County high schools will have officers on location.  Previously, a deputy based at Apollo responded to other county schools when needed.  The Apollo deputy has been there since the late 1990s.

Daviess County High School accounted for the most significant spike in students being charged.  A total of 14 students were criminally charged at the school from 2001 through 2003.  But from January through May, there were 23 students charged, according to the sheriff's department.

The sheriff's department has tried each year since 2002 to receive federal grant funding for a school officer at Daviess County but has not received any, said Capt.  David Osborne.  In the meantime, the department will fund two officers to work on a part-time basis at the New Hartford Road school.

"I certainly feel like the schools are making a concentrated effort to address the problem," Osborne said.  "Though it increases our workload, I certainly applaud their actions." Having two part-timers is "not the greatest plan, but it's the best we can do right now."

A group of law enforcement agencies teamed up for a school-coordinated surprise drug sweep at the three county schools April 1.  A total of six students were charged in the sweep.  In addition to that effort, there was an increase of individual requests for drug-sniffing dogs throughout the school year, Osborne said.

Drugs seized at schools include marijuana and pills, according to police reports.  Pills range from the anti-seizure medication Klonopin to pain relievers like Xanax and to the powerful painkiller OxyContin.

Green said a communitywide increase in drug use has a trickle-down effect into the schools.  The increase in students being charged has been a topic at internal administrative meetings, he said.

Principals and other school staff members have not been instructed to enforce anything more strictly than in previous years, Green said.

"We continue to take a hard line on drugs and alcohol coming into the schools," Green said.  "We're calling in law enforcement and having them charged."

The numbers of county school students being charged likely will increase more with the addition of another school resource officer, said Officer Ken McKenzie, a city police officer who is entering his fifth year as school resource officer at Owensboro High School.

"The numbers sometimes will be shocking, but I think after several years they will see the numbers come to a steady level," McKenzie said.

Owensboro High School continues to be the school with the most students criminally charged for infractions.  During 2003, 79 students were charged at the school.  That was the highest number since McKenzie began working at the school in 2000.  So far, the rate of students charged in 2004 seems to have decreased and may be leveling off, he said.

The numbers of students being criminally charged shouldn't be used to define success or failure at any specific school, McKenzie said.  Simply having an officer on the premises will result in many infractions being handled by police that were once handled by teachers or administrators, McKenzie said.

For example, before the presence of police in schools, fights or thefts were often handled internally.  Now, schools rely on police to intervene in many of those situations, he said.

During the summer, McKenzie said he will help train the two part-time officers before they begin working at Daviess County High School.  While students being charged gets the brunt of attention, the majority of a school resource officer's work involves serving a public relations function with students, he said.

Police frequently answer questions from students about legal rights and fight misconceptions about law enforcement, McKenzie said.