OFFICER REGAN'S FIRST YEAR AT WHS

Police Officer Thomas Regan spent one full school year in Wethersfield High
School, the first officer to do so. In that time, Regan worked to gain a
better understanding of how a police officer can be "integrated into the
high school experience," he said.

"In the beginning," he said, "I was getting used to being a police officer
in the school - and the students were gaining an understanding of some of
the concepts of the law. They had to learn things like you can't lay your
hands on someone just cause they called you a name."

As time went on, students began to realize that Regan was not just a
uniformed cop, but also a person.

"I coach hockey so some students knew me," he said.

One of the biggest problems facing the school, Regan said, was the fighting
and assaults that were taking place. As the school year went on, however,
the number of assaults decreased. This may have been due to the use of
mediation as a tool to curb fighting, according to Regan.

"Through an active uniform presence in the school, between classes, and in
the cafeteria, I attempted to decrease the opportunity for fights. I also
used a tool already employed by the school and administrators known as
mediation," he said.

According to Regan, the number of assaults decreased in many areas of the
school, and there were no physical fights in the cafeteria during the
school year.

Regan added that perhaps the most difficult challenge for high school kids
today was the experimentation of drugs and alcohol.

"Kids have a laissez-faire attitude when it comes to drugs. They are
experimenting with marijuana, alcohol, crack cocaine, ecstasy, and crystal
meth."

"There is a mentality that exists that they are not hurting anybody. But
they're not seeing the big picture of depravity amongst drug users and the
moral impact of allowing oneself to buy and sell drugs," he said.

Afraid of raising too loud an alarm bell, Regan said he didn't want parents
to be too shocked by what's going on. "In no way is drug use an epidemic,
but it is happening, and it is generally socially acceptable amongst many
of the teens going to Wethersfield High School."

"Many of the popular kids are doing it. If you want to be popular, you
either facilitate the use of drugs or get involved with doing it yourself,"
he added.

"What the mob determines is okay, that's what people do. The best anti-drug
program is mom and dad. I'm almost asking for help to be vigilant and to
confront them. It's a labor of love."

Regan said that next year, he would take a lot of the things he learned
this year and apply them. He said he hopes to continue to manage and build
an after-school community service program.

Students are also responding well to certain classroom situations in which
Regan teaches students about personal safety and the law. In health classes
and civics classes, Regan said he "would like to get more opportunities to
teach. I'm hoping good exchanges can take place. Besides being a uniformed
person, you're a real person, not a Robocop."