Campus Cops North Side Schools Find Security Guards Do More Than Just Keep The Peace; They Provide An Outreach To Students Who Might Fall Through The Cracks

The kid, his arm cocked to deliver a softball-sized snowball, was caught before he threw.

Walt Pegram, North Central High School’s new security officer, burst through a set of double doors and quickly strode toward the freshman. “Hey, you throwing snowballs?” Pegram asked rhetorically.

“Oh, maaaannn,” the kid whined, dropping his head.

A year ago, the boy might have gotten away with lobbing snowballs at unsuspecting students. Non-students more freely prowled campus boundaries at North Side high schools in hopes of luring students away to party. Cars were regularly broken into while parked in school lots. The number of guns confiscated reached an all-time peak.

Students, parents and teachers say Spokane School District high schools are safer this year with paid security guards roaming the campuses.

In the 1994-95 school year, there were three guns and eight knives taken from students in North Side high schools. Halfway through this school year, no guns and two knives have been taken. Car thefts at Shadle Park have dropped from 15 to just two. Fights at North Central have been cut in half.

Non-students, quickly recognized by the guards, stay away for fear of being issued criminal trespass warnings. Six drug dealers have been arrested at Shadle Park High School.

And, perhaps most importantly, school administrators say the work the guards do in mediation and conflict resolution is the best way to prevent violence. All three guards working at North Side high schools have a background in youth counseling.

“I bet I prevent more fights than I stop,” said Pegram, a mild-manner, soft-spoken man who students call “Uncle Walt.”

The guards are the equivalent of reserve officers. They are authorized to make arrests but not to carry guns on campus. They have completed the Spokane County reserve officer training course. They are armed with a police-band radio, cellular phone, mace and handcuffs. They earn $12 an hour, or about $19,200 for a 10-month contract.

They talk daily with school vice principals and police, forming a network of information about Spokane youth.

“It’s not piecemeal, it wasn’t a knee-jerk reaction to some complaints from a few parents,” said Joe Madsen, Spokane School District security chief. “We have an entire plan.”

Unlike most rent-a-cops, all three North Side high school guards are ex-counselors, drawn to the school positions because they offer opportunities to work with youth.

“I come from the perspective of dealing with youth culture and … we are are a culture in crisis,” said Pegram. “The changes in culture necessitate this position.”

As Pegram floated around the halls last week, students greeted him like they would a favorite teacher. When he saw a student he didn’t recognize, he walked up and introduced himself.

Junior Randy Peterson said he used to skip class, but after being caught by Pegram enough times, he shored up his attendance record.

“I go to all my classes now because I have to because Walt is so nice,” said Peterson.

Some think that even the increased school security is not enough.

One teacher at a North Side high school said even with the added security, he feels uncomfortable. He is alarmed that anyone can walk through a side door and not be questioned. “A potential shooter could pretty much go wherever they wanted and do some real damage,” he said. He would not give his name, fearing retribution from administration. “I am concerned for student safety and a little bit concerned about my own safety.”

Shadle Park senior Kevin Horn has had several confrontations with the school’s security guard, Gary Cooper, including one for using a racial slur. “He’ll be friends with you, go along with you, then bust you if he changes his mind,” said Horn.

“It’s not worth the money,” said his friend, senior Brian Robertson, eating pizza at the Pizza Pipeline during class.

Gene Boik, owner of the Pizza Pipeline, a lunchtime hangout across from the school, said added security at the school and at nearby businesses push away customers.

“They don’t want to be around when the security is around,” said Boik.

But parents are sold on the idea. Mary York heads a Rogers parent group that is concerned with youth violence. When she pulled into a parking lot to pick up her son Mike, a sophomore, security guard Paul Corrick was tapping on her window within two minutes.

“When students go from junior high to Rogers, kids say they don’t want to go there, and parents say they don’t want their kids there,” said York. “But now with the security, it’s different. They are getting right on top of things up there.”

The positions are basically an extension of the responsibilities traditionally shouldered by vice principals for discipline. But as student problems have gotten more frequent and complex, an extra set of eyes and ears is necessary.

“When I am sitting in my office, I can’t be out in the halls,” said Rogers vice principal Maury Paul. “It has most assuredly created a safer school.”

Despite the added measures, those involved with school security say it is impossible to prevent something like the shooting at a Moses Lake junior high two weeks ago that left two students and a teacher dead.

“This is an example of positive front-loading,” said North Central vice principal Dan Feldhusen of Pegram. “You don’t stop it all, but he stops a lot before it happens.”

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