D.C. schools operating with 10 fewer officers

Washington, D.C. (Map, News) - D.C.'s police department has been operating for months with 10 fewer officers in public schools than it is funded for, officials told The Examiner, limiting its ability to maintain order on campuses.

The department currently has 89 officers patrolling chiefly the District's public high and middle schools. The 10-officer vacancy, in place since the summer, could be filled next month, according to Cheryl Pendergast, commander of the school security division.

Operating at 10 percent short of a full cadre of officers has left Pendergast's agency scrambling at times, she said this week.

"The impact is big," she said. "We often have to pull from other schools if there's an event or a particular incident happening, so then that school loses officers."

Pendergast said she advertised for the open spots in August. Initially 54 officers expressed interest. Since then, some applicants have dropped out of consideration.

Becoming an MPD school resource officer requires three years of experience on the city's police force.

Applicants also cannot have disciplinary records and are generally pulled from road patrol.

The commander's goal is to put the best remaining candidates through specialized school security training and have them in place sometime in February.

Delays that have dragged the process out "rest clearly on me," she wrote in an e-mail.

Pendergast refused to release current information showing the size of the police presence at each campus. She said schools have at most four assigned officers.

The commander said some of the school officer posts have been vacant for more than just this school year.

Part of the problem is that officers can ask to be transferred out of the schools and back to standard road patrol at any point, officials said.

"It's a really tough job," Pendergast said. "You have to have patience, be quick on your feet. There's a fine line between being an officer, a social worker and an adviser."

dlevitz@dcexaminer.com

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