POLICEMAN TO WORK AT SCHOOLS

Officials hope a full-time policeman assigned to Cape Girardeau public schools will deter crime and foster mutual trust between students and police.

The Cape Girardeau City Council Wednesday night voted to accept a federal grant to help the school district fund the project.

A school-resource policeman is expected to begin with the 1997 school year in August, said Dr. Dan Tallent, superintendent of schools. The policeman will be based at Central High School and serve all schools, Tallent said.

The national School Resources Officer Program is designed to foster trust and respect among students, faculty and administrators while deterring crime, Tallent said.

The COPS Universal Hiring Grant is provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. It was requested by the Cape Girardeau Police Department in 1995.

The grant and the school district will provide money to hire one policeman, which will free up an officer to become the school-resource officer.

The school board approved the program as part of the district's master plan last October, Tallent said.

Incidents such as assaults, fights, possession or sale of drugs, and possession of weapons would be handled by the policeman.

"We want to help students understand that the police are there to help us," Tallent said. "We hope to build a rapport between the students and the police so the students see them as helpers, community supporters, and not the bad guys."

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Rick Hetzel helped instigate a similar program when he was chief in Norcross, Ga. He has been instrumental in getting the program started here.

"I think our need to work more closely with our young people has really grown," Hetzel said. "I really can't think of any better way than to assign an officer to the schools on a full-time basis."

He hopes the program will re-establish police as positive role models. "Police work is not all about the dramatics that you see on television," he said.

Hetzel said the officer should serve as a deterrent to crime and will be a resource for teachers.

Hetzel plans to make the job available to anyone who applies. Police and school officials will choose from the top candidates. The officer will attend a training program to acquaint him with the educational atmosphere.