By ROBERT KOCH
Hour Staff Writer

NORWALK -- School resource officers will be placed in Briggs, Norwalk and Brien McMahon high schools, using surplus dollars leftover from the Board of Education's 2004-05 operating budget. "Norwalk has embarked on a multi-pronged strategy to prevent criminal behavior by young people and improve the climate of security in the schools and counteract youth violence in the community," said Mayor Alex Knopp, announcing the plan to put a school resource officer at each of the city's three high schools. Knopp said the three resource officers will be transferred from the Norwalk Police force. Which officers will be chosen, what their hours and duties as resource officers will be are pending discussions with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 1727, which represents police officers. The resource officers will start Sept. 15, or as soon as negotiations with the police union allow. Joining Knopp at City Hall for the announcement were schools Superintendent Dr. Salvatore J. Corda; Board of Education Vice Chairwoman Jody Bishop-Pullan; city Finance Director Thomas S. Hamilton; Deputy Police Chief Mark Palmer; and Detective Marc Lepore, Local 1727 president. City officials for some time have mulled bringing resource officers into the high schools. To date, a police officer has been assigned to patrol outside Norwalk High School; another is assigned to Brien McMahon High. "It was a different officer every day. Their duties included outside patrolling in the vehicle, responding to incidents inside the school," Palmer said. "This school resource officer position will be an enhancement to that. We expect it will generally be an inside position. It will be the same officer each day." Corda said school resource officers have proven effective in helping young people develop positive attitudes toward police, helping teachers and faculty, and deterring inappropriate behavior. "The presence of a police officer -- because he or she is a police officer -- is certainly a deterrent to inappropriate behavior," Corda said. "We support the opportunity to have school resource officers. I know that the building principals will look at this as a very positive step and will welcome their presence." Bishop-Pullan said the school board supports the move. The city anticipates that the resource officers, although placed at the high schools, will "relate" with the feeder middle schools. Lepore said Local 1727 supports having resource officers at the high schools, and now must work out details of arrangement. That said, one major concern remains. "The Norwalk police union supports this program. The high schools and middle schools will benefit from having a school resource officer available," Lepore said. "My only concern about the program is I don't want to see school resource officers replace outside officers. We believe they should supplement outside officers." The police department will hire three new officers, likely in December. Until then, officers will work overtime to cover the temporary vacancies, Knopp said. Paying overtime to cover the vacancies, hiring three new officers, and launching or restarting other initiatives aimed at preventing youth violence and gang activity is budgeted at $283,703 to $375,871. On Tuesday, the Board of Estimate & Taxation is scheduled to vote on transferring $303,369 in surplus from the school board's 2004-05 operating budget to pay for the resource officer program. Covering the balance will be $60,176 budgeted within the 2005-06 school budget for police extra-duty expenses, and $12,326 from the federal seized asset fund. Knopp said the city is still awaiting to hear whether the U.S. Department of Justice will approve its grant application for school resource officers. The mayor counted the addition of the resource officers, the creation of a special police task force, and the expansion of Norwalk Weed & Seeds summer youth employment programs as part of a strategy to deal with youth violence at "hot spots" in the city.

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