CAMPUS DEPUTIES HAVE 'POSITIVE EFFECT' ON VISTA HIGH SCHOOLS

VISTA ---- As students shuffled back to class after lunch at Vista
High School one day last week, several stopped to wave or say hello
to deputy Mario E. Genera as he watched from his usual spot near a
lunch counter called The Pit Stop.

"I arrested him," Genera said, waving back toward a smiling,
dark-haired teenage boy. Moments later, another young man stopped to
say hi to Genera on his way back to class. "I arrested him, too,"
Genera said with a slight smile as the boy walked away.

Since Genera began working Sept. 1 as one of two armed resource
officers hired by the city to patrol Vista high schools, the deputy
sheriff has arrested at least 16 students, mostly for offenses such
as truancy, possession of tobacco, fighting and having knives on
campus. Across town at Rancho Buena Vista High School, deputy
Earnell Sease has made about 60 arrests since starting at the school
Sept. 18, mostly for marijuana possession and alcohol.

Genera and Sease, both long-time officers for the sheriff's
department, joined the campuses two years after the positions were
cut in 2004 because of a budget crunch in the district. School
officials did not have data comparing security problems in those two
years, but they said the officers' presence on campus ---- from
before school starts to after the final bell rings ---- has been a
powerful tool in preventing problems, punishing repeat offenders and
making students more accountable.

"He's had a really positive effect ... kids like having an extra
hand and set of eyes, another adult presence," Vista High School
assistant principal Chyrl Taugher said of Genera. "Kids were more
restless (without deputies on campus) ---- they weren't better or
worse, but the deputy has a calming influence on things. It's just quieter."

About 3,500 students are enrolled at Vista High School.

At Rancho Buena Vista, a high school of about 3,200 students,
assistant principal JoAnn Jones said deputy Sease's presence "is an
incredible advantage to the school."

"Kids see him and they know there's more consequences than there is
with ... administrators," Jones said. "It's hard to say at this
point whether the number of suspensions have decreased ... but
generally speaking, with a uniformed officer here kids generally
behave better. I can tell without statistics there's less fights."

Vista sheriff's Capt. Ed Prendergast also said the high schools
called the station three or four times a day before the deputies
returned to campus, and now the calls have stopped coming in.

In addition to patrolling the campus and surrounding area, the
resource officers also give presentations on such topics as drugs,
gang involvement and grades. They also meet with parents and
participate in school counseling sessions. Officers also attend
dances and athletic events at the two schools.

The officers' active involvement has given many students one-on-one
contact with the deputies and bolstered the relationship between
students, staff and deputies, authorities said.

"Most kids are very positive, they want to be here and learn with no
stress from bullies," Sease said. "When I'm walking around, kids ask
questions, they're opening up a lot more."

Like the two boys at lunch, Genera has even begun building
relationships with some students he previously arrested, he said.

"I grew up in an area just like this. I've been though what they've
been through, the gang neighborhood, alcoholism, I knew people on
drugs," Genera said. "I deal with it on their level. I'm not better
than them, I'm here and I really want to help."

"I tell them, 'You dictate how I'm going to act' ... I'm sure some
have been treated bad by other cops, but I talk nicely and they're
surprised by that sometimes."