Pubdate: Mon, 06 Nov 2006
Source: North County Times (Escondido, CA)
Copyright: 2006 North County Times
Contact:  http://www.nctimes.com
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1080
Author: Sarah Wilkins, Staff Writer
Note: Gives LTE priority to North San Diego County and Southwest 
Riverside County residents

CAMPUS DEPUTIES HAVE 'POSITIVE EFFECT' ON VISTA HIGH SCHOOLS

VISTA ---- As students shuffled back to class after  lunch at Vista 
High School one day last week, several  stopped to wave or say hello 
to deputy Mario E. Genera  as he watched from his usual spot near a 
lunch counter  called The Pit Stop.

"I arrested him," Genera said, waving back toward a  smiling, 
dark-haired teenage boy. Moments later,  another young man stopped to 
say hi to Genera on his  way back to class. "I arrested him, too," 
Genera said  with a slight smile as the boy walked away.

Since Genera began working Sept. 1 as one of two armed  resource 
officers hired by the city to patrol Vista  high schools, the deputy 
sheriff has arrested at least  16 students, mostly for offenses such 
as truancy,  possession of tobacco, fighting and having knives on 
campus. Across town at Rancho Buena Vista High School,  deputy 
Earnell Sease has made about 60 arrests since  starting at the school 
Sept. 18, mostly for marijuana  possession and alcohol.

Genera and Sease, both long-time officers for the  sheriff's 
department, joined the campuses two years  after the positions were 
cut in 2004 because of a  budget crunch in the district. School 
officials did not  have data comparing security problems in those two 
years, but they said the officers' presence on campus  ---- from 
before school starts to after the final bell  rings ---- has been a 
powerful tool in preventing  problems, punishing repeat offenders and 
making  students more accountable.

"He's had a really positive effect ... kids like having  an extra 
hand and set of eyes, another adult presence,"  Vista High School 
assistant principal Chyrl Taugher  said of Genera. "Kids were more 
restless (without  deputies on campus) ---- they weren't better or 
worse,  but the deputy has a calming influence on things. It's  just quieter."

About 3,500 students are enrolled at Vista High School.

At Rancho Buena Vista, a high school of about 3,200  students, 
assistant principal JoAnn Jones said deputy  Sease's presence "is an 
incredible advantage to the  school."

"Kids see him and they know there's more consequences  than there is 
with ... administrators," Jones said.  "It's hard to say at this 
point whether the number of  suspensions have decreased ... but 
generally speaking,  with a uniformed officer here kids generally 
behave better. I can tell without statistics there's less  fights."

Vista sheriff's Capt. Ed Prendergast also said the high  schools 
called the station three or four times a day  before the deputies 
returned to campus, and now the  calls have stopped coming in.

In addition to patrolling the campus and surrounding  area, the 
resource officers also give presentations on  such topics as drugs, 
gang involvement and grades. They  also meet with parents and 
participate in school  counseling sessions. Officers also attend 
dances and  athletic events at the two schools.

The officers' active involvement has given many  students one-on-one 
contact with the deputies and  bolstered the relationship between 
students, staff and  deputies, authorities said.

"Most kids are very positive, they want to be here and  learn with no 
stress from bullies," Sease said. "When  I'm walking around, kids ask 
questions, they're opening  up a lot more."

Like the two boys at lunch, Genera has even begun  building 
relationships with some students he previously  arrested, he said.

"I grew up in an area just like this. I've been though  what they've 
been through, the gang neighborhood,  alcoholism, I knew people on 
drugs," Genera said. "I  deal with it on their level. I'm not better 
than them,  I'm here and I really want to help."

"I tell them, 'You dictate how I'm going to act' ...  I'm sure some 
have been treated bad by other cops, but  I talk nicely and they're 
surprised by that sometimes."
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MAP posted-by: Elaine