HIGH SCHOOL COP KNOWS HER BEAT

Const. Jackie Suchodolski stuffs a small plastic bag into her desk
drawer.

"Let me just put my marijuana away," she says.

The New Westminster Secondary School liaison officer is in her office
at the high school on a warm June morning.

The pot that Suchodolski jokingly called "hers" was found in an
unlucky student's locker. It will later be taken to a police weigh
station, then it'll get fried at a "super-secret" burn facility.

As for the student's fate, Suchodolski says when they find drugs, it's
an automatic suspension. Parents are notified, and the student gets
mandatory drug counselling when they return to school.

"I speak to them about the legal ramifications. If they are caught
dealing, I will look at charges or restorative justice," she says.
"The Youth Criminal Justice Act allows us to use our own
discretion."

They go case-by-case in order to possibly save the teens from the
bondage of a criminal record.

"The majority of the students here are great kids, you know. You get
into that age that you make mistakes. We don't want these kids to have
a criminal record if they can help it," says Suchodolski, whose black
hair is pulled back in a tight pony tail. She has an authoritative
presence (a job requirement, probably), but a soft smile.

"I'm very impressed with the way the school and the school district
handles the kids here. They are fair, and they are firm," she says.

The 38-year-old has been in policing for seven years. Before she
started at the high school in January, Suchodolski worked in the
street-crime unit as an undercover detective.

"I was working deep undercover, buying drugs off drug dealers," she
says.

She did a lot of surveillance work. The hours were long, the work
demanding.

"You could put in a 10-hour shift, and something would happen, and you
have to stay," she says.

As a single mom of two pre-teen daughters, Suchodolski wanted a
regular schedule. Her hours at the school - 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. - mean
she has more time with her kids.

Another change for Suchodolski is that she now regularly wears her
uniform to work. As an undercover officer, the goal was to blend in,
which gave her a different perspective.

"You actually see they don't know who you are. You can be any
civilian. They carry on their criminal activity, and it's right in
front of you," she says. "When I came to the school, part of the
mandate was they want a visible presence because they want to make the
school safe."

One of the most significant threats to student safety is Facebook,
Suchodolski says. A lot of online bullying goes on between students on
the social networking site, she says.

"Quite often, I have kids come in and say they were bullied on
Facebook - threatened to be beaten up," Suchodolski says.

When Suchodolski hears about it, she monitors the comments she
monitors the comments and notifies parents.

"If they are (from) another student here, they are spoken to by staff
and myself to see where we are going to take it - if it's serious
enough for a suspension or if it's serious enough for a police
investigation," she says.

Another danger is that some students post personal information on
Facebook, making themselves a target for predators.

"When you are on the Internet, you are leaving footprints,"
Suchodolski says.

With a couple of 'tweens at home, Suchodolski knows all about the
allure of Facebook.

"My youngest is nine ... Facebook is not an option. She's not happy
because the older one is on it," she says.

Suchodolski's 13-year-old has a Facebook account, but Suchodolski says
she has access to her daughter's password, and they keep the computer
in the kitchen.

"I always tell people, 'Don't let your kid have a computer in their
room,'" Suchodolski says.

Since she's started at the high school, Suchodolski is working to
raise awareness about the perils of Facebook and other issues.

This year, she plans to host seminars about abusive relationships,
drugs, safe driving and bullying. She's also involved in the RockSolid
anti-bullying campaign at the high school, which the New Westminster
Police Service helps fund.

Over the summer, Suchodolski taught at the Justice Institute, where
Grade 11 and 12 students who are thinking about a career in policing
get a chance to study it.

"These are people who are wanting to possibly do this in the future,
as a job," Suchodolski says. "It's a miniature mock version of what we
go through once we're hired."

Suchodolski recommends a career in policing because it's a "global
career" that offers the chance to do a variety of different roles. Her
own experience - going from an undercover officer to school liaison -
exemplifies that variety. Suchodolski loves her current role because
she's helping create a sense of safety at the high school.

"The kids can come to me if they don't know where else to go to," she
says.