Summer is rapidly coming to a close for Davenport students as school starts August 23.

That also includes a growing number of those behind the badge.

Last year, the city was awarded a $600,000 matching grant to create two more school resource officer positions.

This Davenport Police Department Unit tells Local Four News they now have five dedicated staff.

After recent schools shootings, including in Dixon, Illinois in May 2018, more focus is being placed on this job.

DPD has long had a presence at the Davenport High Schools, with one SRO assigned to West High School and another at Central, while off-duty officers help cover the remaining two buildings.

The School Resource Officer Unit tells Local Four News, they also include a supervisor working with all the district’s K-12s but new this year are two officers taking to the hall specifically at the intermediate schools.

Davenport School Resource Officer Curtiss Carter said, “It helps them feel safer in school. That’s just kind of the icing on the cake.”

Davenport Police Department’s class of school resource officers is growing.

Davenport SRO Unit Supervisor Sgt. Andy Neyrinck said, “We see what’s happened to our schools across the country, we’ve got to do everything in there. That’s our most precious resource.”

The two additions to the SRO Unit will be tasked with a lot of relationship building, starting at a younger age.

Davenport School Resource Officer Matt Lovelady said, “I work almost every day with juveniles out on the street, and I’ve learned to build a rapport with them, and a lot of our youth are misguided.”

Two veterans of the department, Officer Matt Lovelady will split his time between Williams and Smart Intermediates.
And Officer Craig Burkle will be in the halls of Sudlow and Wood Intermediates.

Davenport School Resource Officer Craig Burkle said, “Can bridge the gap and I can make an impact in their lives, and that’s what I hope to do.” 
Officer Lovelady said, “If they get to know us on a personal level, which at the school for eight hours a day will allow us, before school, lunch period. I plan on eating lunch with the kids.”

For SRO Curtiss Carter, who is getting ready for his 11th year at West High School, the classrooms also provide more time to interact and answer questions then officers often get on patrol.

Officer Carter said, “[Students say] I can do better myself because this is somebody that lived here, grew up the same way because we get to exchange those memories.”
“They put a face to the badge. That they understand we’re people just like they are, that we have families when we go home at the end of the day. We’re moms and dads. We’re no different then they are. It’s just what our job is,” said Sgt. Neyrinck.

And if students become aware of a threat, that relationship can go a long way to help kids know there is someone to trust.

Officer Burkle said, “Let them know we’re not the enemy, we’re their friend, and we’re here to help you, and hopefully we can build that trust and that relationship to let them realize we can help them get ahead of this game. If you get certain messages or you’re hearing certain things in the hallways, let the officer know. That we can be proactive instead of reactive.”

These officers will also be entering the classrooms; Davenport Police tell Local 4 News they teach two classes at area schools.

One focuses on helping students learn more about the role of law enforcement and understanding their rights. The other class is about the safe and responsible use of technology.

This school year, the SRO Unit supervisor tells Local 4 News, every quarter, teachers will start going over the emergency procedures to help be better prepared should an incident occur.

Davenport Community Schools is also taking added steps to increase security.

In early July, Iowa school budget officials approved $1.13 million for the district.

The funding will add another two more full-time school resource officers and hire 18 additional unarmed security supervisors.

A district spokesperson tells Local 4 News, they are currently working through the hiring process for the supervisors. 

Before the funding, the district had 28 supervisors.