elcome to Cop Shop Q&A. How many times have you seen a law enforcement officer in school, on the playground, or just in the community, and you wanted to ask a question? Believe it or not, answering your questions is the thing police officers enjoy doing more than any other aspect of their jobs.

The role of the police officer in schools is best described in one word, "Safety." We want our schools to be the safest places on earth if that's possible. When students feel safe, they are not distracted for the most important task at hand, and that task is learning. Among the Dubuque Police officers assigned to our schools is Brian Jobgen who will help develop content for this feature. We are calling our special page "Cop Shop Q&A."

If you would like to ask a question regarding any aspect of law enforcement or school safety, click here. If your question raises a topic that would interest a wide segment of our audience, we'll publish it here. If you wish to keep your inquiry confidential, by all means tell as and we will protect your privacy.

--Brian Jobgen

Q. What is the biggest safety risk with the start of the school year?

A. Traffic around school buildings at arrival and dismissal times is our biggest risk. SRO's feel that this is a major problem that is very hard to address and to correct. . In most cases parents dropping off or picking up children in the school zones is the traffic problem. Unfortunately most schools have been built in neighborhoods where there are inherent parking and/or traffic problems. The Dubuque Police Department tries to have patrol officers or SRO's in the school zones to monitor traffic problems. The SRO's believe that Dubuque has been fortunate that there have not been more accidents. Parents need to understand that they play an important role in the school safety zones and need to do their part to help make the school zones safe. So often many parents appear to be in a hurry to get in and out of the school zones. This puts safety at a real risk, especially as younger, excited students leave school and dart out into the street. In most cases if all safety rules were followed in these school zones, the traffic congestion would be cleared up in a short time.

Ongoing major concerns are:

1. Stopping in traffic to drop off or pick up a child. Regular traffic drivers not picking up/dropping off students in the school zones may not be expecting vehicles to stop in the middle of the street. This action could easily cause an accident.

2. Parking in an area closest to the school without regard to the type of traffic problem it causes, i.e. being in a no parking zone, near stop sign, in a crosswalk, etc.

3. Not following directions from school staff in the area. Staff members are giving their time to make sure that the children get to and from school safely. They do it in all kinds of weather. They are not doing it to make it difficult for people to get in and out of the school zones. Please be courteous to these school staff. They are doing the best they can to make it safe, and are familiar with the traffic problems of the area. In most cases the schools have worked out a plan to address the traffic safety in their school zones.

4. Being in a hurry. Haste is always a safety hazard.

Q: When can Police and teachers have physical contact with my child?

A: State Of Iowa code chapter 280.21 addresses corporal punishment and states that an employee of an accredited school may have physical contact with the body of a student if it is reasonable and necessary under the circumstances. The employee under these circumstances shall be granted immunity from any civil or criminal liability.

Physical contact is considered reasonable if

A. encouraging, supporting, or disciplining the student

B. protecting the employee, the student, or other students

C. obtaining possession of a weapon

D. protecting employee, student or school property

E. stopping a disturbance or threat of harm to another

F. removing disruptive student from the classroom

G. self-defense.

Q: He/she was only defending himself/herself why did he/she also get arrested?

A: Self defense is just what the word says. You can defend yourself but that doesn't include fighting back. The law advises that if you have a way of escape you must do that. If you need to use some type of force to make an escape, the force used needs to be reasonable. In other words you can hang on to keep from getting hit, wrestle to the ground to avoid being hit or kicked, but if you are hitting and kicking back you are also guilty of fighting.

The fact that one person starts a fight, does not give the other person the right to continue the fight. That is why we have the disorderly conduct charge with states that anyone attempting to entice another to a fight is guilty of disorderly conduct.

Q: What rights do we as parents have?

A: You have all the rights you believe you have. It is your house and you are responsible for your child until the age of 18. Any discipline that is necessary and reasonable can be used. You have the right to check up on your child, you have the right to search the room in your house that you allow your child to sleep in. If your child is involved in activities in your house, such as theft, damaging property, you also have the right to call the police and have such charges filed on them. If you find illegal
drugs you can call the police in reference to this, or you could talk to your child, flush the items down the toilet and seek counseling for your child, if you feel the counseling is necessary.

Q: Why do we have Police officers in our schools?

A: The Dubuque Community School District and the Dubuque Police Department work together and currently have three officers, called School Resource Officers in the Schools.

Corporal Brian Jobgen, 24 year veteran, works in the K-6 schools and Hillcrest on campus school. Commonly known as Officer Brian.

Officer Kurt Horch, 12 year veteran, works at Washington Jr. High, Senior High, and part time Central Alternative High.

Officer Becky Stieber, 10 year veteran, works at Jefferson Jr. high, Hempstead High School and part time at Central Alternative High.

The School resource officers are not just at the schools to enforce the laws. In most cases that is the last thing that they become involved. The idea of a School resource officer has been in many communities around the country for many years. The concept is teacher, counselor, law enforcement.

In the 2002-03 school year, the three officers were involved in 698 investigations in the schools. These included every thing from a pocket knife being brought to school to drug and alcohol possession, assaults, assaults on staff, thefts, damaging property, and harassment.

They filed 417 charges in the schools, however they also had 1612 contacts with students, of which 396 were for counseling or mediation reasons only. Counseling would involve discussing the students actions, and advising what legally could happen to them. No charges were filed in these cases. Mediations were just trying to keep a small problem from becoming a real
safety issue.

These officers spend a vast majority of their time in the schools trying to make the buildings safer for all.

In the K-6 schools 654 classroom visits were made. These included everything from crossing streets safely to the law and what actions can get a student in trouble with the law, bicycle safety, being responsible, being safe.