The Green Bay Police Departments Police School Liaison Program has been in existence since 1978. The program is a partnership with the Green Bay School District to serve over 20,000 students in the Green Bay Area. There are currently 10 full time Liaison Officers. Their responsibilities include education through crime prevention programs, providing mentoring to youth, and Law Enforcement in and around school campuses.
There are 4 high schools and 4 middle schools in those areas. Each area has at least two assigned liaison officers. Liaison Officers can be reached via their schools. Click on the school name to visit that school's web page.
One of the responsibilities of the Liaison Officers is to provide programs to elementary, middle, and high school students at every grade level stressing prevention and education. Elementary Programs include Officer Friendly, Gang Awareness, Bike Safety, Halloween Safety, Personal Safety, Theft, Vandalism, Anti-drug, Anti-smoking, and Harassment. Our middle school students receive GREAT training and alcohol and other drug abuse training. Our High School programs include Anti-Vandalism, Anti-smoking and drug, alcohol abuse, seatbelt and motor vehicle law. Our Traffic Enforcement Unit also visited each High School with the Safe'N'Slower program on motorcycle safety. A motorcycle was donated the family of a child that died in a motorcyle accident and was taken to all the High Schools. This was to try and impress on the new drivers the danger of excessive speed and street racing that is being glamorized in popular culture.
Liaison Officers also act as mentors by having open and scheduled office hours. They also attend extra curricular activities and field trips. Building relationships is vital to the success of the school community. The mentoring allows them the opportunity to connect with our youth and help them to succeed.
Liaison Officers also provide Law Enforcement in and around the Schools. Officers respond to all incidents that occur in the schools and investigate complaints of drugs, alcohol, weapons, or other contraband in the Schools. They resolve and investigate disturbances and any other violations of state law, city ordinance, or school policy at the request of the school staff. The Liaison Officers investigated over 500 cases in the year and made over 2,000 arrests. Liaison Officers also aggressively work with the schools in enforcing the truancy laws and trying to get kids back into the schools to become successful students. The Truancy Assessment Center is in operations and continues to be a valuable school resource that is used by all Officers. Funding for the Center is in doubt for 2004 and we hope to be able to help the School District find funding to continue this program.
The benchmark program for the PSLO is the Gang Resistance Education and Training Program (GREAT). GREAT is offered to all seventh grade students in the Green Bay School district. Over 1,500 students are given the course that is meant to develop their personal skills, resiliency skills, resistance skills, and social skills. Our program also includes a summer component for 80 of the students. The summer program is one that is done in cooperation with the Boys and Girls Club. The summer program is held 4 days a week, for six weeks, and the students involved participate in numerous field trips and team building exercises.
Detective Jim Swanson and his Passive Narcotic K9 Buddy have became a valuable asset to the PSLO's and other members of our Department. Detective Swanson and Buddy do drug presentations in the schools and to community groups. They also did thousands of school locker searches and vehicle searches. They also assist the Drug Task Force and Community Police Officers with investigations and seized over $60,000 of suspected drug money from a search at the airport.
Liaison Officers work hard at establishing and maintaining relationships with students. Over the years the liaison program has been very successful and beneficial to the community. There are eight PSLO's currently assigned in two person teams to the four quadrants. The quadrants are named for the high school in their area. There is also one addition Liaison Officer assigned to each side of the Fox River to assist the other Officers with investigations and programs. A listing of the schools in each quadrant and the name of the PSLO for that quadrant is listed below. Click on each school for more complete information.