PORT TOWNSEND — The Port Townsend School District will have a school resource officer in the upcoming school year, after four years without one.
The school district has been without a permanent police presence since late 2006, when cutbacks prompted Port Townsend Police Chief Connor Daily to reassign Officer Troy Surber to patrol duty.
“There has been an increasing disconnect between the police department and the students,” Daily said this week.
“It seems to me every year that we do not have an officer present in the schools, we are falling short in our responsibility to build well-rounded relationships with these students.”
Daily said that when students see officers only during critical situations, they can become fearful and distrustful of police.
Sometime in October, Officer Garin Williams, 39, will set up an office in the Port Townsend High School.
From there, he will maintain regular contact with the students in all three schools, which also include Blue Heron Middle School and Grant Street Elementary School.
Williams has worked in Port Townsend for about three years, Daily said.
The interaction with the students and Williams’ introduction will be determined by each principal, said Daily, who worked as a school resource officer prior to becoming chief, as did his predecessor, Kristen Anderson.
Surber will act as Williams’ watch commander and guide him through the orientation process.
“It will be a lot easier for Garin if Troy is there to show him the ropes,” Daily said.
“This will allow Garin to benefit from Troy’s experience and success in the schools.”
Having a permanent officer in the schools is a preventive measure, Daily said.
“When Troy was in the schools, the kids would talk to him,” Daily said.
“He would hear about situations and was able to head them off before they became real problems.”
Daily said the presence of a school resource officer helped eliminated skateboard or bicycle violations downtown since kids were taught boundaries.
The police haven’t been completely absent from the schools over the last four years.
Since 2004, Surber has conducted some limited programs but has been unable to act as a student guide, Daily said.
“Troy was in the schools during 9/11 and during Columbine,” Daily said. “We weren’t under attack, but it helped us to be visible at that time.”
Surber also has taught some drug prevention and anti-bullying classes, and students have attended seminars about what happens after a gunshot incident, both for the victim and the perpetrator.
The idea of restoring the resource officer emerged in 2008, when Daily applied for a federal Community Oriented Policing Services grant with the intention of using the position in the schools.
The reaction was so enthusiastic that he decided to “move people around” to accommodate the schools whether or not the grant was awarded.
If the police force gets the grant this fall, Daily will use it to hire another officer, which will result an increase to 16 officers.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
