FORT WAYNE – As Gordie Allen strolls through the hallways of New Haven High School, teens call out to him and several stop to chat. Minutes later, as the hallway clears, one young man is still struggling with his locker.

Allen, a school resource officer, stops to help, pulling a key from his pocket.

“There you go,” Allen said, popping the locker open, “You should still be able to make it to class on time.”

That’s typical of the situations that Allen, a New Haven police officer, handles on a daily basis. He acknowledges there’s another side – fights or arrests for drugs, battery, theft and more – but just as much, he’s simply there to help.

A sampling of 24 school corporations in northeast Indiana showed that while eight do not have resource officers, 15 employ at least one officer, and six of those also have dogs. One school that does not have a full-time officer provides office space for a member of the local police department who patrols the school as his schedule permits.

The number of social issues that teens face today is staggering, Allen said. As a result, he and other school resource officers find themselves in the roles of confidant, mentor and counselor as much as law enforcer.

“They have worries and fears that my parents and I never had,” Allen said. “And some of them have no one to talk to. I admire and am amazed by their determination and resilience.”

Positive image

Police officers and dogs patrolling the hallways of schools may seem frightening to some, but the opposite is true, according to most school and police officials in northeast Indiana contacted by The Journal Gazette.

Having a school resource officer on-site not only deters crime, but it also saves money, provides a positive image of law enforcement and can be a life-changing influence for at-risk teens, said Jeff Studebaker, school safety manager for East Allen County Schools.

A school resource officer will automatically reduce the number of calls made by schools to local police agencies, Studebaker said.

“By a conservative estimate, we are down about 80 percent on (police) calls to the school” after appointing an officer, Studebaker said.

New Haven Police Chief Stephan Poiry agrees. The police department saves time, gas and money when it’s no longer called upon to dispatch officers and cars to the school for incidents the school resource officer can handle, Poiry said. The officers are employed for the entire school day throughout the school year and are not assigned to other police duties except when school is not in session.

East Allen County Schools has one resource officer position in New Haven and contracts a security officer for the rest of the district, according to Kirby Stahly, chief financial officer for the school corporation.

Poiry cited statistics showing the resource officers at New Haven schools counseled 437 students, prevented 24 fights, made 30 home visits, located 10 truant students and made 34 arrests in 2011.

Although Allen is employed by the New Haven Police Department, East Allen County Schools pays $50,000 a year toward his salary, Poiry said, with a small part of that reimbursed to the school through grants.

Footing the bill

Fort Wayne Community Schools has six officers who spend a majority of their time in the district’s five high schools and the Anthis Career Center and one who floats between the middle and elementary schools, FWCS spokeswoman Krista Stockman said. The school and Fort Wayne Police Department share the cost of the officers’ salaries, Stockman said.

Resource officers at Southwest Allen County Schools and Northwest Allen County Schools are employed and paid by the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, which receives about $48,000 from each school corporation to help pay for the positions.

Some smaller high schools, including Whitko, Prairie Heights, Fremont, Northern Wells, Southern Wells and Westview, do not have officers.

Churubusco High School did not have an officer until last month, when it contracted with the town council to hire a part-time resource officer. The officer’s salary will be split three ways among the town, the school corporation and public donations.

Lack of funding is one reason Central Noble High School does not have a full-time resource officer, Superintendent Chris Daughtry said.

“We would love to have one, but things are so tight,” Daughtry said. Currently, the school provides space for an officer from the Albion Police Department who spends time at the school as his schedule permits, Daughtry said.

Bite out of crime

It’s obvious that officer Kevin Neher and his black Labrador, Max, are popular with the students at Carroll High School. Neher said he is amazed at how many more students approach him when Max is at his side.

Max is a friendly dog and has been trained to detect drugs, guns and ammunition. Neher and Max often conduct random searches of school parking lots, lockers, locker rooms and classrooms.

During the first year of the resource officer and canine program at Carroll in 2006, drug-related arrests dropped 30 percent from the prior year, according to Neher, and in the second year there was a decrease of 22 percent.

Neher, a member of the Allen County Sheriff’s Department, has yet to find any guns but has confiscated drugs and ammunition.

A large component of having a resource officer is the deterrent factor, Neher said. Students are more reluctant to bring illegal items or substances into the school knowing there’s a much greater chance of discovery, he said.

Max’s expenses – including equipment, food and medical – are paid for with private donations. Recently, students raised more than $1,100 for the beloved canine.

All three high schools in DeKalb County have officers with dogs. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department pays two of the officers’ salaries while the third is divided among the three schools, said Phil Carpenter, DeKalb Eastern Schools business manager.

And while East Noble pays the Kendallville Police Department for the cost of an officer, the school pays for all of the dog’s care, including supplies, medical, grooming, meals and boarding, said the schools’ business manager, Craig Ream.

Far from being a threatening presence, many school resource officers and dogs immediately form strong bonds.

“Max has become the school’s unofficial mascot,” Neher said. “The students and faculty love him.”

vsade@jg.net