El Segundo puts police officer full time on campus

DAILY BREEZE

For the first time in 30 years, the quiet town’s high school has a police presence on campus full time. “You’re such a rock star to the little kids,” says officer Jeff Humphrey, “but at the high school, not so much.” By Shelly Leachman

El Segundo High School is known for high test scores, East Coast- college-style architecture and celluloid immortalization at the hands of Hollywood.

Situated in a town that locals call “Mayberry,” one thing it’s not known for is trouble. Which is why the sight of a uniformed police officer on campus — gun, bulletproof vest and all — to some may seem strange.

They’d better get used to it.

For the first time in some 30 years, there’s an officer stationed at the school full time, with districtwide jurisdiction.

At 26, Jeff Humphrey, a sworn El Segundo Police Department officer since 2004, is only eight years older than the school’s oldest students. In his crisp blue uniform, short-cropped dark hair and sleek black sunglasses, he looks something like Tom Cruise circa “Top Gun.”

But instead of soaring the skies, he’s pounding the pavement throughout El Segundo Unified, aiming to foster friendly relationships between police officers and pupils and solve problems before they start.

“Some kids say hi and want to talk. Other kids you only come into contact with under not so great circumstances,” Humphrey said. “I want them all to know that I’m not here to always bust you for something; I’m here to keep you out of stuff, too.”

Just after 9 a.m. Thursday, the high school is alive with controlled chaos. Music blares from the theater, where an assembly will soon begin, and teachers are in and out of the office like subway passengers through a turnstile. The school secretary is simultaneously answering phones and cracking jokes to passersby.

Humphrey is busy “handling a situation.” A female student was found intoxicated on campus, with an inhalant in her possession. He issued her a citation and the school suspended her.

“Every school has issues. It’s not ‘if,’ it’s ‘when,’ ” El Segundo Police Chief Jack Wayt said. “I think the school district understands that and the positive effect we can have.”

It was Wayt who presented the pilot program to the school district, resurrecting it from the 1970s. Back then, Wayt played the role now filled by Humphrey. There have been school officers since, but they’ve been part-time, juggling campus commitments with regular patrols.

“We figured if we’re going to have an officer in the school, let’s have an officer in the school,” Wayt said. “Bottom line is there’s no better place to put a policeman, for their benefit and ours. And that’s why we do it.”

The school district agreed. It jumped at Wayt’s offer for a full-time officer on campus, according to Superintendent Bruce Auld, who described Humphrey’s presence as “very appropriate in today’s circumstances.”

“Not only do we have another set of eyes and ears, we have expert eyes and ears,” he said.

For their part, students are so far nonplussed by the sight of an officer on campus. Senior Daniel Truax, 17, said he has “never felt unsafe at school anyway” and doesn’t know many people who have had much interaction with Humphrey.

Still, they are well aware of those “expert eyes and ears” the superintendent spoke of. According to Truax, the officer’s presence is deterring kids from cutting class — himself included.

“Last year I’d go off campus for lunch sometimes, but now that (Humphrey) is here it’s not worth it to get the $300 ticket or whatever it is,” Truax said. “I’ll just suffer through the cafeteria food.”

Besides dealing with truancy and other problems that may arise, Humphrey teaches DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) to middle school students, polices varsity football games and will do the same for basketball. He also serves on two regional committees — Reach Out Against Drugs and the School Attendance Review Board.

But more than anything, Humphrey sees himself as “the face of the Police Department in local schools.” He spends much of his time talking with kids, who may ask for driving advice or legal opinions or simply say hi.

And if they’re kindergartners whom he just treated to a police station tour, they shout “Hi, officer Humphrey!” and want high-fives all around. At least, that’s the response Humphrey got during a recent Red Ribbon Week event at Richmond Street Elementary.

“You’re a rock star to the little kids, but at the high school, not so much,” he said. “It’s funny — people are always asking me, ‘Do you have kids at home?’ And I always say, ‘No, but I have 3,200 in El Segundo.’ “

Tags: high school, middle school, police, school, Schools, spend, street