This article has been updated with information from South Orange Police Chief James Chelel.
South Orange Village President Sheena Collum speaking at a South Orange-Maplewood Board of Education communications forum in May 2015.
South Orange Village President Sheena Collum vigorously defended South Orange and Maplewood’s applications for COPS in Schools grants at Monday night’s South Orange Board of Trustees meetings, saying that the officers would be integrated into the school community much like the D.A.R.E. program and would not act as armed guards.
Both towns have applied for the grants to fund school resource officers in the aftermath of two weapons incidents earlier this month — one at Maplewood Middle School where a 7th grader brought a loaded handgun to school, and one at Columbia High School where a 9th grader brought an airsoft gun and kitchen-style knife to school.
“This is not reactive,” Collum told the public on June 22. “This is proactive.”
Collum said that schools resource officers would be working with the school community in an “appropriate” fashion, after the towns, police departments and schools created an “agreement on where and how” the officers are used.
“This is not someone who stands at the door and tries to intimidate,” said Collum, “quite the opposite.”
Collum stressed that the COPS in Schools grant would represent an expansion of the South Orange Police Department’s community outreach efforts that include National Night Out, the Junior Police Academy, Coffee with a Cop, and Positive Behavior Citations, which are “tickets” issued to youth when police see them exhibiting positive behavior. Recipients can redeem the citations for ice cream or pizza slices. Collum credited SOPD Sgt. Adrian Acevedo for his work fostering and leading such programs.
Trustee Deborah Davis Ford commended Collum (whom she addressed as “Madame President”) for working to bring back the schools resource officer. “You laid out clearly that this is about building relationships with the students.”
Davis Ford said that it was “really important” for the Board of Trustees to communicate that the COPS in Schools grant program is “not just putting officers in schools but [is about] community outreach.”
“It’s important that we communicate that clearly,” said Davis Ford.
At the June 16 Maplewood Township Committee meeting, the governing body voted 5-0 to approve a resolution authorizing Maplewood Police Chief Robert Cimino to apply for a COPS in Schools grant. Marlon K. Brownlee, chair of the Maplewood public safety committee, stressed that the grant was for “resource officers” and offered incentives to build collaborative efforts with schools using “community policing.”
South Orange has applied for funds to support one officer at South Orange Middle School, while Maplewood has applied to fund two officers — one for Maplewood Middle School and one for Columbia High School, which is located in Maplewood but serves students from both towns. Grants can be made for up to $125,000; grantees must make a 25% match to the awarded grant.
In a followup email, South Orange Police Chief Jim Chelel confirmed that school resources offices “are armed.”
However, Chelel wrote, “I believe that the officer can serve two purposes. The officer assigned to the school will serve as a role model as well a person of contact for the students and law enforcement. He/she will not be there for law enforcement purposes but rather to interact in a positive manner with the students and develop a rapport with the students and faculty alike. One benefit could be the officer identifying those youths that may be heading in the wrong direction and stepping in to mentor the children prior to an official interaction with law enforcement. The goal is diversion away from the legal process.”
Chelel added, “In the unlikely situation that an armed or violent offender enters the school the benefit of an armed officer in the school will be that we have an officer already on the scene to protect our youth and the educators.”
