Board Debates Putting Police In Schools

In considering a proposal to put full-time police officers in the high schools, the school board Monday debated how the officers should interview or interrogate students.

Some parents had objected to the proposed policy that would give police the leeway to “interrogate” students without parental knowledge.

“We’re not trying to come up with a program that seems oppressive,” explained assistant superintendent Dave Teater. “We want it to be positive.”

Under the proposal, the school district would pay the salary of one officer, and the city would pay for the other. The agreement still needs the approval of city officials.

School board chairman Ken Burchell said he supports having officers in the schools, but questioned the policy on interrogations.

“I’m not sure that our parents’ interests are protected and that our students are also given fair protection against unwarranted interrogation,” he said earlier Monday.

The policy’s wording was changed to make it clear that parental notification would be required except when it would interfere with an investigation.

Police Capt. Carl Bergh said the provision is needed in cases such as child abuse, or where a parent is suspected of drug abuse.

The policy is not intended to refer to casual conversations between police and students.

About a dozen students contacted Monday had mixed feelings about having police officers patrolling their schools.

“You’d feel like you’re being watched all the time,” said Courtney Ade, who will be a freshman at Lake City High this fall.

“As long as they don’t go overboard, I don’t care,” said her friend, Kelsey Sherich.

Most of the teenagers said they would rather talk to police without their parents or school authorities present - unless the police were about to arrest them for some reason.

“Some of the cops are pretty nice to us,” said Jackson Bihler, 15, who was hanging out at the skateboard park.

Newcomer Dustin Baker, 16, said he would be surprised to see only one policeman at school. At his previous school in Santa Maria, Calif., there were more than a dozen, he said.

“The cops were cool,” he said. “They’d give you pointers and advice and stuff. They’d sit down and talk to you and be reasonable.”

That’s exactly the image that Coeur d’Alene police would like to achieve with students here, said Capt. Carl Bergh.

“Everybody’s talking about be more active, get to know your young people,” he said. “That’s exactly what this program’s all about.”

, DataTimes