Aug.
1, 2019
Prevention
Resource Officers honored for service to
W.Va.
students, schools
CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – Sgt. Howard John Haglock III helped investigate a
custodian, leading to his conviction for sexual abuse. The Ohio County deputy
sheriff and his wife then took in three students, siblings, removed from their
home and at risk of being uprooted to the other side of the state.
Sgt. Haglock might say it’s all in a day’s
work for a Prevention Resource Officer. His peers are honoring him as West
Virginia’s PRO of the Year.
Haglock was among several PROs recognized
for going above and beyond during the annual conference for the statewide
program, held last week at The Highlands near Triadelphia. PROs are certified
law enforcement officers who receive special training to serve in their local
elementary, middle and high schools. They maintain an office at their schools
and are on duty a minimum 35 to 40 hours each week, and also typically attend
extra-curricular activities throughout the school year.
“The PRO Program allows officers to
establish trust with the students and act as a liaison between the students and
staff,” said Justice Program Manager Tanisha Travis, the
longtime PRO Program Coordinator. “PROs are not only trained to respond to
dangerous school situations, but also provide mentoring services and talk to
students about issues such as bullying, suicide prevention and drug abuse.”
The Department of Military Affairs and
Public Safety oversees the program, through what is now the Justice and
Community Services section of its Division of Administrative Services. As the
name suggests, the program focuses on prevention as well as mentoring and
safety. The 2019 conference provided training and certification to 101 PROs to
serve in 32 counties – the largest number of officers in the program’s history.
“Schools with PROs in the building are the
lucky ones, and since the program started in 1997, requests for officers have
dramatically increased while funding has decreased,” Travis said. “It's safe to
say that having an officer in the school is better than not having an officer
there. It would be wonderful if we could have them in every school in West
Virginia.”
The PRO at Madison Elementary School,
Haglock assisted with the investigation that yielded the custodian’s guilty
plea and a 10- to 20-year prison sentence. By caring for the three student
siblings, who include twins, he and his wife have ensured they continue in
their stable routine at the school. They had faced relocation to the Eastern
Panhandle. Among other service, Haglock also: helps students with homework
after school four days a week; buys clothing and meals for students in need;
drives parents and grandparents of special needs students to and from their
Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings; and has partnered with BB&T
Bank to distribute baskets with a weeks’ worth of food to school families ahead
of Thanksgiving break.
Deputy David Drahos,
also with the Ohio County Sheriff’s Office, was honored at the conference as
Rookie of the Year. In his first year at Warwood Elementary, Drahos has become
known for building bonds with staff and students, educating the children about
substance abuse and bullying awareness, and supporting the school during
weekend events.
Ravenswood Police Cpl. Tom Speece
earned the PRO Legacy Award. Speece will soon start this 19th year
as a PRO at Ravenwood High, his alma mater, having helped the PRO Program get
its start. He’s formed friendships with students that endure into their
adulthoods. He helps them get jobs, visits them in hospitals, comforts them at
funerals, attends their weddings, and helps welcome their newborns.
Also honored at the conference:
Above & Beyond Awards, for going above
and beyond what is required of a PRO
- Wheeling Police
Sgt. Don Miller, Bridge Street Middle School
- Wetzel County
Dep. Randy Adams, Hundred High School
- Dunbar Police
Cpl. George Rader, Dunbar Middle School
- Grafton Police
Ptlm. Paul Collins, Grafton High School
Community Service Awards, for enhancing
the PRO Program in their community and representing PROs and their departments
in a positive manner
- Charleston
Police Cpl. Gary Daniels, George Washington High School
- Greenbrier
County Cpl. Rick Honaker, Western Greenbrier Middle School
- Harrison County
Dep. Coty Shingleton, Liberty High School
- Harrison County
Dep. Justin Talkington, South Harrison High School
- Hancock County
DFC. Brian Hissam, Oak Glen Middle School
Distinguished Service, for going above and
beyond what is required of a PRO in a manner requiring the officer to act with
bravery, disregarding personal safety or injury
- Charleston
Police Cpl. Travis Hill, Capital High School
- Ohio County Dep.
G.J. Costello, West Liberty/Bethlehem Elementary
- Ohio County Cpl.
Chad Clatterbuck, Wheeling Park High School
- Logan County
Sgt. Nick Booth, Logan High School
- South Charleston
Police Sgt. Fred Beane, South Charleston Middle School
Ohio County Sheriff Tom Howard
received a Special Recognition Award for his years of dedication and service to
the PRO Program and for his role in helping to plan and host this year’s PRO
conference.
“Every year, the stories of heroics and compassion
of the police officers working in our West Virginia schools is exceptional,”
said DMAPS Cabinet Secretary Jeff Sandy. “This year’s award winners are heroes
to the highest degree.”
Sandy said school-based law enforcement
programs began in the 1950s, and have grown in popularity in recent decades. He
noted that more communities began assigning officers to schools in the 1990s,
amid growing fears about juvenile crime and high-profile school shootings as
well as the resulting increase in funding for school-based law enforcement
programs,
“Today, over 40 percent of U.S. schools
nationwide, primarily at the secondary school level have assigned police
officers,” Sandy said.
The PRO Program is supported by funding
from the U.S. Department of Justice, through its Justice Assistance Grant
Program (JAG) and the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Title II Grant
Program.
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