Staff And Equip. Assessment

CAMDEN CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 

Dr. LeFra Young Superintendent

           Security Department (Office) 856­966­2101/2102 (Fax) 856­966­2144           

Reuben Mills Deputy Superintendent Leon Freeman Business Administrator Thomas Hewes-Eddinger

Chief of Security

To:

Mr. Leon Freeman, Business Administrator

From: Mr. Thomas Hewes-Eddinger, Chief of Security Date: December 8, 2008 Re:

Staff and Equipment Assessment

I have met with a solid representation of staff from all levels throughout the district. My initial assessment is as follows: •

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In general, the staff assigned to the security department appears to have a genuine interest in the safety and security of students and staff. At several schools in the district the security officer’s position is a high stress, physically demanding and at times a dangerous job. Many of the officers throughout the district are under qualified for the position. Several are outright disgruntled, undermining and constantly insubordinate. Professional appearance and grooming is inconsistent throughout the staff. Many have taken liberty to create their own version of their uniform. Standard Operating Procedures currently does not address a Standard Uniform with proper insignias. The current job title of “School Law Enforcement Officer” is inconsistent with their job description. An argument could be made that the title is illegal and implies Police powers they do not have. Progressive discipline for Officers is virtually non-existent and the current supervision levels within the department are minimal at best. Officer communications skills, both written and verbal are significantly poor. This results is the misinterpretation of incidents involving school violence and provides incorrect statistics in the districts Annual School Violence Report to the State. It can also bring about undo stress to a verbal incident causing it to rise to the level of a physical altercation. Board Policy on physical contact and restraint of students by security staff is inconsistent. Board File Code: 3517 indicates security staff is to have no physical contact with students. However, in the 2004 Board approved District Wide Standard Operating Procedures that includes procedures for Passive Restraint and Handcuffing of students by Security personnel. Camden High School statistically has the most incidents of violence. In the last two years the Security force at Camden High School has been reduced 50% from 24 Officers to 12 Officers. On Friday, December 5, 2008 there were 5 separate violent assaults and a fire alarm triggered by a student. This resulted in injuries to two staff members, three arrests for assault, one arrest for possession of cocaine and one charge for triggering the fire alarm. 1

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Camden Police had assigned 25 Patrol Officers as School Resource Officers. In 2008 this number has been reduced to 4 for the entire district. This leaves district security Officers more vulnerable to incidents of physical contact with students. Several years of security department neglect and simply ignoring requests for the service and replacement of existing Electronic Surveillance Equipment have placed the entire system of cameras, radios and scanners in a critical state of disrepair. The three existing scanners (at Woodrow Wilson High and two at Camden High) are inoperable. Recent Purchase Orders have been issued but it will take several weeks to complete the repairs.

In order to re-establish a better trained and more responsive and professional security department, I make the following recommendations’: • • • • • • • •

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The depleted staff needs to be rehired. A Basic Training Course for all new hires needs to be approved and implemented with Guidelines from the Attorney General’s Training Commission and be taught by Certified Instructors. Hiring Standards need to improve by requiring qualifications of continuing education and/or military police experience. The starting salary needs to increase to attract better qualified applicants. Mandatory Bi-Annual in-service training for use of force, harassment and communication skills needs approval. This should begin in January 2009. Additional in-service courses should be offered on gang identification, recognizing child abuse and dealing with teenagers. The existing title “School Law Enforcement Officer” should be changed to “School Security Officer”. Standard Uniforms should be approved that includes dress pants with stripe, dress shirt with an embroidered shoulder patch and an embroidered chest badge. Both should contain the district insignia. The badge rockers should read “School Security Officer”. I am not recommending at this time that wallet badges with picture credentials be issued. To better supervision, I have redeployed the Operations Officers back into an oversight capacity. This should help improve both the reporting and informational system within the Security Departments chain of command. I am recommending the creation of a promotional title of “Senior School Security Officer” to be placed in those schools where three or more officers are assigned. This shall significantly help better staff supervision at the individual school level. The department should implement progressive discipline and random drug and alcohol testing. I am recommending the Board hire a Security Investigator to assist Law Enforcement on criminal investigations, conduct internal investigations,

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administer the random Drug Testing Program and to implement both an intelligence gathering and crime mapping system. I will be meeting with both Camden Police and the County Prosecutors Office to improve both onsite police presence as well as extended outside coverage areas at schools located in neighborhoods with higher street crime activity. Lastly, Electronic Equipment needs to be repaired or replaced to improve the existing system. Overall a district wide grant should be proposed to upgrade and expand the districts Electronic Surveillance and Communications Systems. Please see attached: Camden City Public Schools Security Department Organizational Chart December 5, 2008- Draft

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