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 At Lincoln Community High School, School Resource
Officer Tim Butterfield recently said that a person would be foolish
to believe that something like that is not possible at LCHS. But, he
added that he believes the schools is doing everything possible to
prevent such an incident, starting with the School Resource Officer,
initiatives such as more than 100 cameras in the school, and a
tip-line on the school website that sends information to Butterfield
for investigation.
Steps to protect our children began five years ago when the school
and Lincoln Police Department partnered to initiate the School
Resource Officer (SRO) program at LCHS.
The position was created under the authority of the city of Lincoln
City Council and the LCHS District 404 Board of Education. The
partnership called for a city of Lincoln police officer to become a
full-time fixture at the school. The role of the officer would be to
display a law enforcement presence in the school, and to also be a
‘go to’ person with concerns about safety in the school.
This includes acting as an informal counselor to students, being a
classroom speaker, and assisting as needed with disciplinary actions
at the request of Assistant Principal Rhonda Hyde.
Lincoln Police Officer Tim Butterfield was hired to fill the
position. Last year saw the first graduating class in which he had
known and interacted with the students their entire high school
career. Speaking recently about his role at the high school, he said
that watching the students graduate was a great moment, and he
marveled at some of the students who wore those caps and gowns. He
had seen days when he wondered, would they graduate? Would they
stick it out, and in the end they had.
Butterfield said that he felt the move to an SRO program at the
school has had a very positive impact on students. He noted that as
a result of the SRO program, along with the improved surveillance
and security at the school, critical elements such as students
fighting and theft have been greatly reduced over the past five
years.
As an SRO, Butterfield attended a special training program sponsored
through the National Association of School Resource Officers. The
SRO training provided him with the tools for what the NASRO refers
to as the “Triad” approach, to serve as law enforcement, teacher,
and counselor.
Being an SRO opens doors for Butterfield that are sometimes closed
to school officials. Even though Butterfield is considered a member
of the school administration, he is also still a member of law
enforcement. Because of this he has the right to investigate and ask
questions, and share information that school officials are bound by
law to keep confidential. Butterfield says the reason this is
important is because he has the ability to interact with other
schools, learn about students transferring into LCHS and offer
information about students transferring out.
As a hypothetical example, he said a child coming to LCHS from an
‘anywhere USA’ school has a certain amount of information
transferred. But, Butterfield as SRO has the right to contact the
school, talk to teachers, and ask questions about character,
behavior, interaction with other students, and identify any red
flags.
Butterfield said, yes, there is a certain amount of ‘profiling’ done
in the job, but it is necessary to see who a kid is on the inside.
He spoke about some of the recent shootings and the publicity that
followed. “You see the kids pictured all dressed for prom or in a
football uniform, but you have to look at who they are the rest of
the time.”
When shootings occur in other schools, it does have an impact
locally on children and parents. Butterfield said it is very
noticeable that for a period of time after such a shooting, he sees
more activity from students and parents reporting “suspicious”
activity, both first hand and also through the tip-line.
He said things tend to get blown out of proportion during these
aftermaths, and kids and parents get sucked into it. As a result,
Butterfield, who is keeping a watchful eye all the time, becomes all
the more vigilant during these aftermaths, knowing that a small
problem could turn into a big one if it isn’t handled correctly.
Talking about Parkland specifically, Butterfield said that he had
not read any official reports, only what has shown up on news and
social media. He said there should have been some warning signs that
something was about to go terribly wrong for 19-year old Nikolas
Cruz. Hearing that the young man owned 10 rifles, supposedly without
the knowledge of his guardians, Butterfield said that in itself is
part of the problem. How and why do parents not know what is going
on in their kids lives?
Butterfield said lesson number one to all parents or guardians
should be “be responsible.” Butterfield said, “As a guardian or a
parent, from the moment you bring that child into your home, you are
responsible.” Butterfield said that being a responsible parent isn’t
always popular. A responsible parent is not a ‘best friend’, does
not respect privacy, and does implement rules.
Butterfield went on to say that parents should be in their
children’s “business” all the time. They should have access to
Facebook accounts and other social media, and they need to know that
many kids have more than one account: the one they share with their
parents, and the one or more that they keep hidden. Parents need to
dig and pry until they know of those accounts.
In addition, parents need to know that while Facebook is a popular
social media for older adults, kids are steering away from that
platform and are utilizing Instagram and Snapchat much more than
their parents. A parent needs to be aware of all their child’s
accounts on all forms of social media.
Butterfield said cell phones are not private property. Parents
should be checking text messages to see who their kids are talking
to and what is being said.
He also encourages parents to go into their kid’s rooms and just
look around. Again, a child has no right to privacy when it comes to
drugs, alcohol, weapons, and destructive behavior. What is in their
rooms could be a big indicator of what is going on in their minds.
Finding out can be an important step to assisting a child that is
dealing with emotional trauma.
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Of course, sometimes it is all easier said than done.
But Butterfield said parents need to be strong if they want to raise
strong kids. They should teach their kids that life isn’t always
“fair” and that there are proper ways to deal with difficult
situations and hard times.
At the school, the job of the SRO can also provide an open forum for
parents. Along with Assistant Principal Hyde, Butterfield will make
himself available to hear from parents when they have concerns. He
said this is important for the school, but it is also important for
the parents. He noted that there are times, when a parent really
doesn’t want to share with family or friends that their child has a
problem. Hyde and Butterfield can become a sounding board for those
concerns, assist parents with addressing the problems and as-needed
can help parents connect with other counseling experts for the
child.
Butterfield said in addition to himself and Ms. Hyde, the school has
two guidance counselors who are trained to help address family
issues and a counselor from a local mental health service is also
available.
Another portion of Butterfield's job includes classroom time. He
said on a regular basis he goes into classrooms for an open forum
session with the kids. He said kids may ask whatever questions they
wish. Some of the questions he said he can’t answer in the classroom
because of privacy rules, but many of the questions are about life
situations and he can help with that.
Teaching kids how to cope with difficulties is an important part of
preparing them for the world outside of school. Life isn’t going to
be easy.
There are always going to be trouble makers, and problems a person
has to deal with in their personal life. Teaching kids in childhood
that violence, revenge, retaliation is not the answer will give
those kids a good start in dealing with the problems they may face
in adulthood.
Asked about the relationships he forms with the students,
Butterfield said that the relationships change throughout the school
year. When school begins, he lays down the rules as a member of law
enforcement. He said he is stern in his attitude toward kids,
holding to the rules and the consequence if they don’t. At that time
he feels most of the kids see him as an officer of the law, a “cop”
if you will.
But as the school year progresses, the relationship becomes a little
more relaxed. Butterfield wants the kids to see him as law
enforcement, but also as a mentor and counselor, someone they can
trust and can talk to about all their concerns. He added that he
really wouldn’t say that close friendships are formed, but at the
same time, when a student invites him to attend their graduation
party it is gratifying.
Finally, Butterfield talked about the tip line that is available to
students. “See it, Hear it, Report it,” is a web based tip line that
was developed for Butterfield by students in the technology classes
at LCHS. On the school website there is a box with a link to the SRO
web page containing Butterfield’s email address and scrolling
further down on the page a link to an anonymous tip line via email.
The tip line is open to all, so even concerned citizens outside of
the school system can use the tip line to report something they may
know or have heard.
Butterfield said that although he researches every tip he hears,
sometimes that is an extremely difficult job. He urges people to
give accurate information, and not to embellish the facts to make
things sound worse than they really are. He adds that while he wants
to hear everything parents and students have concerns about, there
are lines that have to be drawn.
No matter what school a child attends, there are going to be cases
when certain kids just don’t like each other. Name calling in the
hallways and teasing are something that no one is going to be able
to control or stop completely. When such incidents turn to bullying,
physical contact, and threats of bodily harm, that is when he is
going to step in and call kids into his office to talk about their
attitude and behavior.
Butterfield offered the following statements:
“When it comes to school safety, we take it very seriously and we
will notify people just as soon as we feel it is necessary to do
so.”
Until it comes from the school, “Don’t believe everything you hear
and see. Social media can be toxic."
He concluded that we as parents need to be vigilant, but not act as
vigilantes, don’t prey on other parents or their children because
someone somewhere said….”
Butterfield also noted that the school has implemented the
“IloveUguys” Standard Response Protocol and is working to make sure
that the entire community understands the protocol, which will be
followed in the event of not just violence in the school but also
natural disaster or other crisis or catastrophic situations.
To Protect & Educate: The School Resource Officer and the Prevention
of Violence in Schools
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