CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT

POLICE DEPARTMENT

…CCSD Police Chief Mark Kissel

Status Report: December 3, 2015

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Officer Assignments

Lt. Daniel Peabody, Operations Commander (Headquarters – Building C)

Sgt. James Morris – Dean Rusk MS Sgt. Richie Rich – Woodstock MS Senior Officer John Edgar – Creekview HS Senior Officer Joseph Cordero – River Ridge HS PFC Elizabeth Buffkin – Freedom MS Inv. Cliff Broughton – E.T. Booth MS PFC Katrina Adams – Sequoyah HS Officer Eric Maddox – Mill Creek MS Inv. Elizabeth Endicott – Teasley MS Officer Jayson Moss – Etowah HS Inv. Beth Furman – Creekland MS Officer Brian Stevenson – Polaris Officer Chris Mendel – Cherokee HS Officer John Hull – Woodstock HS

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Organization

Based upon a policy recommendation to the School Board from Dr. Petruzielo, CCSD’s (then) newly-appointed Superintendent of Schools, the Cherokee County School District Police Department was formed in 1999 and currently consists of 16 police officers certified by the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training Council, an Emergency Management Facilitator and office staff. The department is charged with the responsibility of supporting and facilitating the educational process in order to enhance the School District’s Major System Priority of providing a safe and secure environment for teaching and learning. Since 2006, the Cherokee County School District Police Department has been recognized as a “Certified Agency” under the Georgia Law Enforcement Certification Program…having continually demonstrated our commitment to law enforcement excellence by meeting or exceeding all applicable State standards. This distinction is currently held by only three school district police departments in the State of Georgia.

Statutory Authority Consistent with the provisions of Georgia law, O.C.G.A. 20-8-1 through 20-8-7, the Cherokee County Board of Education is empowered to establish a police department and hire police officers certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council pursuant to Title 35. CCSD Officers have the same law enforcement powers on school property, including power of arrest, as law enforcement officers of that respective county or municipality.

Mission Statement With dedication, integrity, and knowledge, members of the department are responsible for the delivery of police services to our students, faculty and community with fairness and respect; equal enforcement of the law,active cooperation with the community, and respect for human dignity.

Vision

The vision of the Cherokee County School District Police Department is to be regarded by the community and our law enforcement peers as an innovative leader in K12 policing and professional excellence.

Values

Integrity: We are committed to achieving the public trust of our students, parents, school district employees and community stakeholders by holding ourselves accountable to the highest professional and ethical standards.

Courtesy: We will conduct ourselves in a manner that promotes mutual respect with the community and our peers.

Pride: We are committed to bringing honor to ourselves, the department, and the Cherokee County School District.

Professional Growth: We are committed to developing future leaders through education, training, and mentoring each other.

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Operational Responsibilities

1. Under direction and supervision of the Superintendent of Schools and in cooperation with the School Board Attorney, the CCSD Police Department works collaboratively with other Departments to ensure that the School Board’s Major System Priority of establishing and maintaining a safe and secure environment is sustained.

Office of the Superintendent of Schools 1. Conducts Internal Administrative Inquiries or Former Investigations upon authorization by the Superintendent of

Schools based upon allegations of employee misconduct. 2. Ensures compliance with Title 50, Open Records Act related to protection of security information and Infrastructure. 3. Ensures compliance with federal and state law through review of Sexual Harassment Complaints; makes recommendations as appropriate. 4. Ensures compliance with Homeland Security Act of 2002 and the Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) – 5 related to Incident Command Systems and National Incident Command Systems (NIMS) training. 5. Continually reviews safety components of the School District including but not limited to, the School-Centered Emergency Management and Recovery Manual, the School District’s Emergency Response Team, the School District’s Reunification Team, and the Parent Emergency Response Team (PERT). 6. Collaborates with other federal, state and local public safety agencies to ensure coordination of School District and local Emergency Operation Plans/Protocols.

Office of Support Services and Facilities/Construction/Maintenance

1. Provides input on design of new school/facilities including but not limited to, pedestrian/ vehicle flow, intrusion protection, use of digital cameras, access control and Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) protocols. 2. Reviews requests for changes in parking, signage, traffic flow, staff access. 3. Facilitates issuance of electronic access control cards for school-based and district staff.

Office of Personnel Management 1. Consistent with Georgia Law and Board Policy GAK(1), conducts criminal history record checks and fingerprints all fulltime employees of the Cherokee County School District. 2. Consistent with Board Policy GAK(1), conducts criminal history record checks on substitutes, lay coaches, student teachers, chaperones and others who have the potential to be in an unsupervised capacity with students. 3. Monitors changes in state law that may necessitate changes in Board Policy related to: Use of Illegal Substances (GAM), Weapons (GAMB), and Reporting of Criminal Charges (GAMC). 4. Ensures compliance with state law and the Rules of the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) related to training, access, storage and dissemination of criminal history record information.

Office of School Operations 1. Reviews each School Safety Plan as required by Georgia law and submits to local Emergency Management Agency (EMA). 2. Monitors proposed changes in state law that may necessitate changes in Board Policy related to: Interrogations and Searches of Students (JCAB), Harassment (JCAC), Student Discipline (JC), and Communicable Diseases (JGCC). 3. Provides input on the School District’s Student-Parent Handbook/Discipline Code. 4. Officers are assigned to high schools and middle schools 5. Provides guidance to school-based staff (as appropriate) related to student behavior and criminal matters. 6. Coordinates school-based drug suppression by deployment of a trained drug canine. 7. Responds to all vehicular incidents/accidents involving school buses. 8. Responds to and prepares reports related to criminal matters on school district property. 9. Works with appropriate staff to ensure compliance with state reporting requirements related to student discipline.

10. Provides training to parents, teachers and students through school-based Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) through the Parental Awareness for Safe Schools (PASS) Program.

11. Provides training to administrators and school-based staff related to federal and state law pertaining to educational due process, FERPA, HIPPA, and varying case law applicable to the school environment. 12. Facilitates NIMS Compliance training for all school-based administrators and key central office staff.

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Office of Educational Programs, Student Support and Professional Development 1. Conducts safety training for staff related to legal/procedural issues; child abuse reporting, questioning students, and classroom response to emergency. 2. Conducts training in the School District’s Leadership Academy. 3. Monitors field trips and excursions related to Board Policy (IFCB) to evaluate potential safety concerns of known threats or other criminal activity of the location being visited. 4. Provides information/data for purposes of grant proposals; safety grants in amount of $290K have been awarded.

Office of Accountability, Technology, and Strategic Planning 1. Ensures that digital camera systems are programmed to allow designated school-based staff to access to operating system. 2. Works to ensure that technology based platforms used within the police department meet and or exceed best practices

Office of Financial Management

1. Prepares an annual budget for review and consideration by the Superintendent’s Ad Hoc Budget Committee. 2. Reviews and approves quarterly invoices related to security systems 3. Ensures compliance with Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)

2. Works collaboratively with local public safety agencies to ensure the build-out of a viable radio communication system that will support the School District’s Transportation System and school- based radio communications during normal and emergency operations. 3. Represents the School District on federal, state and local levels related to school safety initiatives, programs, and best practices by attending conferences, meetings; monitoring active and proposed legislation.

4. Serves as key contact for Georgia Association Chiefs of Police (GACP), the Georgia Association of Secondary School Law Enforcement Executives (GASSLEE), other school districts across Georgia and other states seeking information on school safety.

Departmental Units

Administration Canine Community Policing Emergency Management Investigations Training

Administration

All full-time, part-time, and contract employees are fingerprinted and undergo a criminal history record check pursuant to Georgia law and School Board policy prior to employment. In addition, all volunteers, substitutes, lay coaches and others working in the system are required to be fingerprinted and have a criminal history record check conducted each year at the time of renewal for service. The Office of Personnel Management is responsible for ensuring that applicants are processed in accordance with state law and school board policy. Applicants are required to provide specific information necessary for the criminal history record check to be completed which is submitted to the police department.

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During the 2014-15 school year, 661 people were fingerprinted for employment purposes using the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). Strict rules and regulations established on the federal and state level govern the possession, dissemination and use of criminal history record information.

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In addition to fingerprints, the department processed 5,437 criminal history record information inquiries (CHRI) through the Criminal Justice Information Systems (CJIS) utilizing the Georgia Crime Information Center (GCIC) network.

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The School District also utilizes the Georgia Applicant Processing Service (GAPS) to facilitate the necessary screening of individuals who are not full-time employees of the district, but provide contracted services to various programs (e.g. therapists, after-school, custodial). Last year, 153 people had criminal history record information processed through GAPS with the majority occurring in the months of July and August.

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Compliance is monitored by the department’s Terminal Agency Coordinator (TAC) and all officers and others within the Office of Personnel Management are properly trained to ensure the criminal history record information is properly used and stored pursuant to federal and state law. Identification badges are issued to all full-time school district employees. The police department is responsible for creating and issuing the badge for the employee’s use while on a school campus or attending a school event. Many of these badges will allow electronic access to the schools or other facilities and can be “deactivated” in the event of loss. Last year, the department issued an estimated 2,000 identification badges for new employees, employees who changed positions, retirees and those who lost their badge. In addition, all police department radio communication is monitored by a dispatch console capable of recording all radio traffic for playback purposes.

Canine The Canine Unit began in 2007 and is used to deter the possession, use and sale of illegal substances on school campuses. Two canine teams consisting of Lt. Peabody/K9 Inka and Officer Maddox/K9 Ayla work proactively with school based administrators to conduct sweeps of vehicles, lockers and classrooms in accordance with School District protocols and departmental policy. The School District Police Department partners with other local jurisdictions for training, combined response and demonstrations purposes throughout the year.

K9 Inka K9 Ayla

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The department holds narcotic and pharmacy licensing from both federal and state agencies to possess substances used for narcotics and training purposes. Each K-9 and handler is certified annually by the National Narcotic Detector Dog Association (NNDDA) and departmental training occurs on a weekly basis. K-9 Inka is cross trained to track missing persons by scent. All officers have the ability to conduct field tests to determine if a suspected substance is marijuana, amphetamine, opiate or cocaine. Both K-9 handlers are certified by the State of Georgia to conduct more comprehensive tests on samples of suspected marijuana. During the 2014-15 school year, the canine teams conducted 669 vehicle sweeps, 35 classroom sweeps and 5,976 locker sweeps.

Community Policing The department works to foster a community policing philosophy whereby relationships with the school-based community and other public safety agencies are developed to improve upon the quality of life for our students, faculty, and others working and participating in the School District. It is our belief that schools are a microcosm of the community at-large and that safe schools exist because of proactive involvement. The department’s Parental Awareness for Safe Schools (P.A.S.S.) Program is designed to engage and inform parents and others of the critical issues related to providing a safe school environment; it is our neighborhood watch program. Coordinated through the local school Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) topics include, but are not limited to Crisis Response Management, Drug interdiction, Gang Awareness, Internet Safety, Bullying and Child Abuse Awareness. There are currently 30 PASS Communities and 12 of these are MASTER PASS Communities.

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The Parent Emergency Response Team (P.E.R.T.) Program is an extension of the PASS Program and is designed to ensure that parents are an integral part of the district-wide emergency response plan. Volunteer parents are trained to assist in school emergencies or major events resulting in “parents working with parents” during an emergency or reunification efforts.

During the 2014-15 school year, members of the department participated in the following community activities:

Citizen Police Academy – Holly Springs Citizen Police Academy – Woodstock Night Out Against Crime PASS Meetings Officer Memorial Dedication – Woodstock Fall Festivals – Woodstock ES/Bascomb ES Fund raiser @ student in need (home destroyed by fire) High School (police) Internships Mentors @ Senior Projects High School Criminal Justice classes Local Boy Scout activities (merit badge) Local Ham Radio (ARES/RACES) Emergency simulation Shop with a COP at Walmart - Riverstone in December 2014

Emergency Management Todd Maloney, serves as the District Emergency Operations Facilitator and he works closely with Cherokee County Emergency Management/Office of Homeland Security. He is responsible for ensuring that all School Safety Plans, as required by Georgia law, meet or exceed the minimum standards and he also reviews the District Emergency Response Team (DERT) protocols with the assistance of several other departments within the School District to ensure continuity of operations in the event of an emergency.

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Communication is critical during an emergency or crisis. As such, the department is responsible for maintaining the district’s IP-connected radio communication system to ensure it is functional at all times. Multiple repeaters are placed throughout the district with prime site being centrally located. Lightening abatement (surge protection) was completed at prime site to mitigate the likelihood of damage to equipment including the back-up generator. Two VHF repeater sites are being located in the northern and southern end of the district using existing equipment. These sites will provide a communications platform for the district to use in the event of a major loss of the UHF system and other public safety agencies will have the ability to utilize these frequencies to ensure intra-operability.

Investigations

The department has three investigators who are responsible for following up on crimes that occur on school property and conducting district-wide administrative investigations related to allegations of employee misconduct when authorized by the Superintendent of Schools. Each investigator is experienced in conducting child abuse investigations and have established relationships with the Department of Family and Children Services, the Anna Crawford Center and other child advocacy groups responsible for the welfare and safety of children. Specialized training is provided to each investigator to enable them to effectively interview young victims. An investigator is assigned to two Innovation Zones to ensure accuracy in reporting and overall responsibility for the investigation. Copies of all suspected child abuse reports are sent to the department by school-based staff. The majority of these are related to conduct occurring off-campus and handled by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office or other municipal agency. Incidents occurring on a school campus are investigated by school district police department. Last year, 246 suspected child abuse reports were filed by school-based staff; eight of these were investigated by the department. The department maintains a “Hot Line” number for students and others to report suspicious activity, threats of violence, illegal drugs or weapons that may involve a school campus. Each school campus has placards posted in both English and Spanish that provides the phone number; HOT LINE: 770 -720 - 4061

Training

Officers are required by Georgia law to acquire a minimum of twenty (20) hours of annual in-service training in order to retain their authority as a sworn peace officer. Of those twenty hours, each officer is required to qualify annually with their firearm and receive instruction on use of force as defined by Georgia law; departmental policy requires that each officer qualify twice a year. The majority of the training occurs during the summer months or during those periods when students are not present to minimize the officers being off campus. With support of the Superintendent of Schools and the Office of Personnel Management, the department implemented a formal rank structure based on experience with the department and state peace officer certification level. Courses for intermediate, advanced, supervisory and management certification are held at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia and availability is very limited. During this school year, Lt. Dan Peabody completed the 120 hour Management I-II-III course and Sgt. Richie Rich

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completed the 120 hour Supervisor I-II-III course the appropriate certification level. Other officers were able to complete intermediate or advanced core courses necessary for those certification levels resulting in appointment to a higher rank. Recognizing that our officers may be asked to assist school-based staff with students or others with “special needs” school-based officers attended the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training coordinated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and National Alliance on Mental Illness. This course is designed to equip officers with the skills necessary to assist those with mental illness, co-occurring disorders, substance abuse, developmental disorders, and brain disorders with the focus being on de-escalation. The department has made this training a priority and is currently working with staff at the Tippens Educational Center to facilitate the assignment of police officers on a weekly basis. The intent is to enhance the officer’s skills while “bridging the gap” to desensitize the students to the presence of the uniformed officers. In addition, officers are required to attend the 40-hour Georgia School Resource Officer Course held at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center. A total of 960 hours of additional training was completed and reported to the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council last school year; an average of 64 hours per officer.

2014-2015 Department Activities

Responded to 1521 calls for service

Responded to 788 Intrusion Alarm events

Responded to 50 Fire Alarm events

Investigated122 private property accidents; 8 of these were hit and runs

Filed 363 Incident reports; 145 cleared by arrest/intake and 130 ex-cleared

Uniform Crime Reporting The department submits incident data to the Federal Bureau of Investigation on a monthly basis for Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) purposes. While secondary school data is not “officially” used in the FBI Annual Uniform Crime Report published annually, it is important for this data to be submitted in order to identify local, state, regional and national crime trends. State Certification

The Cherokee County School District Police Department has been recognized as a “Certified Agency” since 2006 having met or exceeded the essential standards established by the Georgia Law Enforcement Certification Program necessary for the efficient and effective operation of a law enforcement agency. Only 118 departments in the state are recognized as being certified and the department is 1 of 3 school district police departments in the State of Georgia with this certification.

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CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT POLICE DEPARTMENT

2015-2016 Goals and Objectives

111 Academy Street Canton, Georgia 30114

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Goal 1: Provide the highest level of professional service to the school district and school-based community by building positive relationships with students, staff, parents and others.

Attract, Hire and Retain highly qualified police officers and conduct annual performance

reviews.

Ensure the law is applied equally, fairly and impartially regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or religion.

Recognize and reward personnel who meet, or exceed departmental standards through the Departmental Recognition Program.

Goal 2: Maintain State Certification under the Georgia Law Enforcement Certification Program.

Conduct annual review of departmental policies to ensure they are clear, concise and comprehensive.

Compile statistical reports to evaluate criminal activity, departmental demographic data,

citizen complaints, employee grievances, use of force, vehicle pursuits, community involvement and training.

Goal 3: Utilize technology to enhance policing practices, engage the school-based community, and build public trust.

Work with CCSD staff and other public entities to identify, assess, and evaluate new

technology to improve the department’s effectiveness, and efficiency.

Ensure that technology practices do not infringe upon individual rights or violate local, state or federal laws (e.g. CHRI, FERPA).

 

Work with other public safety entities to identify needs and resources necessary for continued buildout of a radio communication system that provides inter and intra-operability.

Goal 4: Utilize Community Policing to build positive relationships with the school-based community and pro-actively address safety issues, problems or concerns.

Utilize the Parental Awareness for Safe Schools (P.A.S.S.) Program and the Parent

Emergency Response Team (PERT) Program to facilitate and educate parents and other community support groups on the critical issues related to providing a safe and secure environment for teaching and learning.

Encourage administrators, faculty, parents, students and community stakeholders to work

with officers to identify issues, problems and concerns related to the school community.

Encourage officers to engage students on all levels through positive non-enforcement activities.

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Work collaboratively with the school-based communities, local public safety agencies,

state and federal entities to plan, develop and implement safe school plans consistent with state law and provide for an effective response to an emergency or crisis situations.

Goal 5: Provide the highest quality of training that is realistic and relevant to enhance an employee’s knowledge, skills and abilities and to support continuing education to enhance career development.

Work with Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police to encourage a systemic review of the core curriculum offered in basic training is relevant to 21st Century policing. Work with Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council (GAPOSTC) and the Georgia Police Academy ensure the core content of school resource officer training is relevant to 21st Century policing. Encourage officers to enroll in programs for advanced certifications and degrees for both personal and professional growth. Recognize and appoint officers to varying ranks within the department based on experience and educational achievement.

Goal 6: Promote safety and wellness throughout the department

Work with the School District’s Office of Risk Management to promote a voluntary departmental wellness program. Continue to evaluate the department’s vehicle fleet to ensure operational effectiveness and use by members of the department. * * *