Fewer policemen in Tulsa Public Schools

One of the effects of Tulsa's city budget cuts this year was fewer cops in class. <br><br>The Tulsa Police Department cut the number of school resource officers and took the remaining ones out of the

Friday, September 13th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

One of the effects of Tulsa's city budget cuts this year was fewer cops in class.

The Tulsa Police Department cut the number of school resource officers and took the remaining ones out of the schools and put them into patrol cars.

As News on Six crime reporter Lori Fullbright explains, some money from the federal government may turn that around. Officer Debbie Crisp has spent nearly half of her 13 years on the force, being a school resource officer. In the past, that's meant being assigned to a school, having an office on site, being there morning through afternoon, handling problems and teaching anti-violence classes. â€œAs a School Resource Officer, teaching the classes, I think it's a chance to let students know they can make good choices and better decisions.â€

Budget cuts mean she's now on patrol. She handles all calls at schools, but must also handle other calls and that personal relationship with students is gone. She still tries to keep her presence felt. The department cut the number of school officers down to three in each division, because manpower shortages forced them to put more officers on the streets. This might sound like the bad news. But, here's the good news.

The federal government is giving $120-million to put more officers in the schools. 500 departments across the country will get a piece of that grant money. The Justice Department says there's plenty of proof that having police in schools, works. It provides a fast response when there's trouble, peace of mind for parents and is a deterrent to those who want to misbehave. "If we're not there, they might be more apt to do fight or do vandalism where they wouldn't if they thought we could arrest them right on the spot.â€

Officer Crisp says all the success stories can't be wrong and she's glad Tulsa's committed to having officers dedicated to schools, in any capacity.

The Justice Department grants provide $125,000 for the training and salary of each new officer for three years. Tulsa doesn't know yet how much of the grant it might receive.