POLICE IN SCHOOLS PROGRAM BACKED

Cost To Virginia: $27 Million A Year

The State Crime Commission has recommended that the state pay to put a
police officer in every middle and high school in Virginia.

The program would be phased in over four years with an ultimate cost of $27
million annually for the 606 middle and high schools. Schools with the most
serious discipline and criminal violations would be first to get the officers.

Some legislative members of the commission blanched at the price tag for
the program at a meeting Tuesday. But Chairman Ken Stolle, a state senator
from Virginia Beach, said school safety should be a priority and had to be
viewed in the context of the $3.9 billion the state pays for public school
education.

The state provides $2.8 million for police officers in schools now, and an
additional $1.8 million is available from federal grants. However, those
grants last only four years, and Richmond reduced the number of police
officers in the schools from 14 to four when their grants ran out this year.

400 officers in schools There are about 400 sworn police officers in
schools in Virginia, usually called school resource officers, with almost
three-fourths of them paid for by local funds, according to a study by the
commission's staff.

The study also looked at the use of school security officers, who typically
have little training and are paid much less than police officers. They make
$22,198 compared with $35,045, according to the study.

Although security officers have limited training, some school systems have
them sworn by local judges as conservators of the peace, which gives them
arrest powers, said Kim Echelberger, a commission staff member.

The designation blurs their role in providing school security because it is
not clear whether their purpose is to enforce the law or the educational
purpose of promoting order and discipline.

The distinction The distinction can create problems when a school principal
might want to handle a relatively minor discipline problem as an
educational issue rather than a law enforcement matter, Echelberger said.

On the other hand, the judicial system might well hold a security officer
with police powers to the same constitutional standards set for law
enforcement officers if he conducts the investigation of a more serious
matter, such as possession of drugs or weapons.

As an example, she said, the standard for checking a student's locker as
part of the school's educational program is reasonable suspicion. The
standard rises to probable cause if the locker is checked for a law
enforcement purpose, she said.

The commission recommended a clear distinction in state law between school
resource officers and school security officers and additional training for
security officers.