ACADEMY DETAILS ROLE OF POLICE IN COLUMBUS SCHOOLS

COLUMBUS - News of a fight after school can rumble through the hallways at
lightning speed.

When a police officer is stationed in those same hallways, listening to the
echoes, the officer can pick up on what's going on.

They can have other police officers ready to descend on the school at 3
p.m. Students think twice about throwing the first punch when they're
surrounded by police cars, School Resource Officer Jodi Hefti said.

The role of school resource officers, as well as the D.A.R.E. and
G.R.E.A.T. programs they teach, was the latest subject of the Citizens
Police Academy, which met Wednesday.

Since assigning two police officers almost strictly to the schools in 2000,
police have noticed more than just a decrease in bad behavior. They have
found a way to allow their officers to interact with students in a positive
way on a daily basis. Also, when students have police they trust, the
entire department benefits from inside intelligence gleaned from students.

But, Hefti said, "We are not in the schools to 'spy' on the students or
faculty." They might learn of a looming underage party by a strategically
placed note in the hallway.

She described their function as proactive, rather than reactive. Hefti,
along with Officer Gilbert Maschmeier, spend their days talking with
students, signing hall passes and answering questions.

"Kids sometimes want to understand, but they're afraid to ask," Hefti said.

Maschmeier, who spends his time primarily in the local parochial schools,
said he also attends sporting events and dances to make sure he is always
visible to students.

Maschmeier and Hefti also have roles as D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. instructors.

D.A.R.E., or Drug Abuse Resistance Education, has been in the schools since
the 1990s. Columbus Public Schools recently dropped the program.

The 10-week course, whittled down from 17 weeks since a review of its
effectiveness a few years ago, is a hands-on collection of activities.

"The kids themselves do the work, and I facilitate and coach," Maschmeier said.

In addition to the dangers of drugs and alcohol, the D.A.R.E. program also
teaches students good decision-making skills.

"Young and old - people get in trouble because they don't think,"
Maschmeier said.

The class, taught to area fifth-graders, also helps students understand
they are not alone if they refuse to succumb to peer pressure. When asked
to guess what percentage of eighth-graders nationwide smoke, students often
guess high numbers, when in reality, it is only a small percentage.

They guess high, Maschmeier said, because they are under the impression
that "everyone is doing it." When they discover that only a minority of
children that young smoke, it drives home the point that not everyone
smokes. So it's OK if they don't smoke, too.

G.R.E.A.T. - Gang Resistance Education and Training - has been in all the
schools since 1994.

"We had a gang presence in this community," Maschmeier said. "We were
experiencing graffiti. We were experiencing the violence."

Strict enforcement efforts were used to identify gang members.

Capt. Charles Sherer said, "Effectively they would cull the leaders from
the herd," and without strong leadership, the gangs lost focus and disbanded.

The 13-week program also focuses on decision-making skills. Maschmeier said
the program has been successful from its inception, not just in Columbus,
but nationwide. Part of that is due to societal pressures.

"As a society we condone alcohol. We don't condone violence and gangs,"
Maschmeier said.