CAPE POLICE OFFICERS GET NEW POSITIONS IN SCHOOL, COMMUNITY

Police announced two staff changes Tuesday that are aimed at getting officers more involved in the community, said Chief Rick Hetzel.

Patrolman Rob Barker will become a school resource officer in the middle of August, and Cpl. Rick Schmidt will take charge of the Southside Substation on Good Hope Street.

Barker will be based at Schultz Middle School, but he will also work with elementary schools along with Cpl. Barry Hovis. Hovis has been a school resource officer for a year, working mostly at Central High School and Central Junior High.

"The first officer has been so beneficial, we thought adding another would be a good, proactive step," Hetzel said.

Barker, who has been with the department three years, gets lessons in school life every evening, he said. His wife is a special education teacher for third and fourth graders at East Prairie School near Sikeston.

"I think I'm more in tune with teacher's thoughts," Barker said. "I hear them every day when I get home."

Barker was one of several police who applied for the position, which was chosen by a hiring board of police and school personnel, he said.

He hopes to not only be a positive role model, but to spot problems before they happen. As a police officer, he said, he can pick up on certain signs that teachers don't.

"The kids are our only hope for the future," Barker said. "That's why I got into this line of work."

Schmidt, who received the rank of corporal last week, will take the position left earlier this month by Charlie Herbst.

"Charlie was also in a supervisory position," Hetzel said. "So we needed at least a corporal at the substation."

Like Herbst, Hetzel said Schmidt has outstanding people skills and is a good problem solver. Last year, Schmidt took the initiative to build relationships with skate boarders and advise them on what they could and couldn't do in public places, Hetzel said.

"We are always looking at how we can work with the community to solve problems," he said. "It's hard to find problem solvers."

Schmidt, who has been a police officer six years, will also serve as evidence technician for the county's major case squad.