Portsmouth to hire resource officer for middle school

That’s the key age group, we’ve found, in terms of a lot of the cybercrime, a lot of the bullying, the sexting, the drug use, alcohol use — it all starts in the middle school.”

Portsmouth Police Chief Thomas Lee

PORTSMOUTH — The town has decided that two school resource officers are better than one.

After creating the position of school resource officer (SRO) last year at Portsmouth High School, the Town Council Tuesday night voted to accept a grant award of $250,000 that will allow a second SRO to serve primarily Portsmouth Middle School, as well as the two elementary schools.

After the meeting, Police Chief Thomas Lee said the middle school population will benefit from a police presence to help ward off problems before they start.

“That’s the key age group, we’ve found, in terms of a lot of the cybercrime, a lot of the bullying, the sexting, the drug use, alcohol use — it all starts in the middle school,” said Chief Lee. “We believe it’s the key age group to reach, and this is a big part of prevention.”

The grant was administered to the Portsmouth Police Department by the U.S. Department of Justice's Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, which awarded $119 million to police departments nationwide last week as part of the COPS Hiring Program, or CHP. (The Warwick Police Department received $375,000 to hire three “community engagement officers.”)

“These are very competitive grants. Thousands of communities across the United States apply,” said Chief Lee, adding that his department has put in for the grant for “many years — going back to two police chiefs before me.”

This year, the department changed things up by applying for funds for an SRO at both the high school and the middle and elementary schools. There are still a few steps to complete with the application, he said, but the extra SRO could be on board sometime after Jan. 1, 2017.

Matching grant required

In order to receive the $250,000 grant, the town must provide a matching contribution of $296,000. However, according to Finance Director James Lathrop, the town’s cost is actually about $14,000 annually over the four years because it’s already funding the existing resource officer salary of $85,000, for which the School Department kicks in $40,000.

In addition, Mr. Lathrop said, the SRO working on patrol in the summer saves about $8,500 annually in overtime costs.

“The impact really won’t be felt until the fourth year (and) at a worst-case scenario … this will cost you $56,000 over the next four years,” he said.

Council member Elizabeth Pedro, however, said she was concerned that when the grant money is gone after four years, it will be difficult for the town to terminate an SRO position “because it’s going to be entrenched.”

“I’m not saying I’m against this, but I just want to be transparent about what we’re doing,” Ms. Pedro said.

Council member Joseph Robicheau agreed, noting that he wanted a “safeguard” implemented that points out to future council members that after four years, “the jig is up.” Mr. Lathrop said the line item could be marked as a “grant-funded position” in the budget, along with an expiration date.

Council members and others, however, agreed that the benefits of having an additional SRO on board for four years at little cost to the town outweighed the negatives.

School Superintendent Ana Riley said SROs are important to the school district. “They come into our classrooms and share the knowledge they have,” she said. “They’re there to build relationships, build community, and work on prevention.” 

Ray Davis, coordinator of the Portsmouth Prevention Coalition, agreed. “Having a school resource officer in any school is a proven deterrent, and not only for safety reasons (but) from a substance abuse prevention standpoint,” he said.

In addition, SROs build relationships with students, who are then more likely to talk to police about things they see happening around the schools, he said.

“They will let that officer know about something before it happens. That is priceless. That’s happened last year and it’s happened this year already,” Mr. Davis said. “It’s a definite factor in keeping drugs out of our schools and helping our kids go to a school in a safe place.”

The council voted 6-0 to accept the grant award to allow for a second SRO. The vote includes a stipulation that the budget line item specifies it’s a grant-funded position with an expiration date of Oct. 3, 2020, and that a memorandum of understanding is signed with the local police union that makes it clear the position may not be re-filled after four years.