It’s been just over two weeks since school resource officers were deployed to six public schools. KUAM sat down with GPD’s top brass to see how the program is taking shape.

With Easter Break around the corner, Guam Police school resource officers will be using the pause to debrief on how their program is shaping up across six public school campuses. GPD Chief of Police Steve Ignacio aims to review the cases officers have handled, the calls they’ve responded to, and incidents involving minors taken into custody or even arrested.

“As recent as yesterday, I believe there was a student up at Okkodo who was involved in a crash in the parking lot of the school–and all to find out, the student who was an 18-year-old, was charged as an adult, was driving under the influence of alcohol–gotten drunk on the school campus, drove off and damaged somebody’s car in the process," said the chief.

While SROs are stationed at select schools to address and deter crime, their role requires a careful balance. SROs receive guidance from consultants at the Robert F. Kennedy Juvenile Justice Center, as the chief noted, “Your role is really not there to be punitive–not to punish the students. These are young kids that need to be mentored; they need to be given that tutelage to go on the right path. And so, you don’t want to turn everything that they do into a crime.” 

KUAM checked-in with Officer Jessilyn Balajadia, who’s deployed to John F. Kennedy High School.  She said, “I like to go around and introduce myself to the kids–make sure they feel comfortable. So far, I met with a couple of groups during lunchtime and break and from that engagement, every day they’re like, 'Hey, Officer Balajadia - how are you doing? Have a good day.”

 “More so, getting to know the child and being their mentor and educating them. That way, they’re not scared of the police. Just trying to bridge that gap between the community and the police. We’re here for your kids.”

As the program evolves, data will hopefully help track trends, measure success, and identify areas for improvement.