Greenfield-Central schools has opened its own police department, the first of its kind in Hancock County.
The Greenfield-Central Schools Police Department launched this school year, complete with its own chief.
The move shows that student and staff safety are a priority, says new Chief Toby Deaton.
“Greenfield-Central’s administration and school board are making an investment in their students,” Deaton said. “The fact that GC is the first in Hancock County to do this speaks volumes to their goal– safety for students and staff.”
School resource officers in GC schools are not new: for years, school buildings have had officers on site to monitor student and staff safety, and connect with students to create a positive rapport with the public safety community.
Last fall, the GC school board decided to create its own police department. The move was designed to create more autonomy: while before, GC would work with the Greenfield Police Department or Hancock County Sheriff’s Department to fill vacancies or step in during vacations, now GC students and parents can expect familiar faces every day.
The move has been almost a year in the making, with feedback and support from local police agencies. It gives the officers the chance to be trained specifically on each of the school buildings, and GC administration can hire officers who are the best fit for each building.
Several of the school resource officers are familiar faces: Josh Mullins, longtime SRO at Greenfield-Central High School, has returned, for example.
In total, five full-time officers are on the team, including Wendel Jaggers at Greenfield Central Junior High School; Ron Chittum at Maxwell Intermediate and Eden Elementary schools; and Trey Strunk at Greenfield Intermediate and Harris Elementary schools.
J.B. Stephens currently has officers filling in while the school works to hire a full-time officer there.
Deaton is new to the community, but has 23 years of law enforcement experience. He works out of Weston Elementary School, where before two part-time officers covered the building.
Jason Cary, GC assistant superintendent who oversees safety, said the move provides so much more consistency.
“We had off-duty police officers at Weston and JB Stephens the last few years, and some days it was hard to find coverage for those schools,” Cary said. “It was also sometimes hard to find coverage for the other buildings when an officer needed a day off. By hiring Chief Deaton, Weston is now covered every day. Forming our own police department will allow us to hire someone at JB full time, which will help with the consistency there.”
Each school resource officer is a “Tier One” police officer, which includes all the required training that any municipal police officer would have.
They are also trained as SROs, and will soon attend a School Safety Specialist Academy.
“Most of our officers have been affiliated with the Greenfield Police Department, and they have great working relationships with the law enforcement officers around the county,” Cary said. “We always knew that, at some point in time, we wanted to form our own police department. As we continued to have conversations with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department and the Greenfield Police Department, they were the ones who encouraged us to make this move. They saw the landscape changing in law enforcement and they knew this would make the best move for everyone. They have continued to be great resources and partners for the school district and the GCPD. We are constantly communicating with them, and they have been so great to work with. It really is a win-win for everyone.”
Deaton is enjoying his new role. He actually started his career as a school officer at Indianapolis Public Schools, but has since spent more than two decades at various city and county police roles in Jeffersonville and Scott County.
As a father himself, Deaton said he is glad to be back in a school setting and helping GC schools open up its own police department.
It’s part of a growing trend: other school corporations across Indiana have their own departments, Deaton said. Having consistent police officers in buildings every day not only ensures safety, but also builds relationships with the community.
Deaton starts each morning opening doors of children as they are dropped off at Weston, greeting them and encouraging them to have a good day. He ends the school day the same way: making sure they safely get back in their cars.
“Getting to see the kids– the laughs and the smiles,” Deaton said, is the best part of the job. “They tell you some things that’s just brutal honesty.”
His duties vary, from meeting with parents to working with local police departments to even opening up syrup packages during lunch time. Sometimes he’ll even shoot hoops with students, just to try to get to know them better.
“It’s not just a uniform and a badge– there’s a person there,” he said. “We want to be an advocate for the kids, and also a resource for parents.”
Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin said the addition of the Greenfield-Central Schools Police Department ensures coverage in schools each day, and consistency in officers.
“We are excited to have Chief Toby Deaton leading this new venture for us,” Olin said. “He brings a wealth of law enforcement experience to our school community, and he has a true passion for student safety.”
While each building’s police officer’s primary responsibility is the safety and security of their building and everyone inside it, each SRO will also be responsible for a certain aspect of law enforcement, Cary said. One will be leading up training, for example; another scheduling; another extracurriculars.
“Our SROs do so much more than just police work,” Cary added. “They assist the administrators and staff with issues in the building, they are a liaison to the community, and they build relationships with the students, staff, and families they serve. They also help promote all the wonderful things our law enforcement agencies do.”
By Maribeth Vaughn
“Our SROs do so much more than just police work,” Jason Cary, GC assistant superintendent added.
