The Administrators Association of San Diego City Schools held a Community Leaders Celebration at the Town and Country Convention Center on Thursday, Feb. 15. University City High School (UCHS) Principal Ernie Smith invited several school volunteers to the breakfast event.
The guest speaker was Bill Maheu, executive assistant chief of the San Diego Police Department. Assistant Chief Maheu had a keen sense of humor and an audience eager for his upbeat message. A University of San Diego graduate in the class of ’83, Maheu earned a psychology degree and didn’t know what to do with his “$200,000 diploma” since he felt he had no marketable skills. He joined the police department and rose through the ranks to oversee the day-to-day operations with its $360-million budget.
He’s a Peãasquitos resident with a wife of 25 years and three children ” two in college and one a senior in high school. He started his talk with a comment the audience loved.
“I would have gotten a teaching credential if I knew I could hang out with such fun people,” he said. “So I’m supposed to talk about the climate and safety in schools. It’s about 66 degrees.”
On a more serious note, he talked about the predictions of five years ago by some pessimists that there would be bodies on the street on a daily basis, gangs in the schools. Instead, he said that we believed in our kids and believed they were good. Maheu says the crime rate across the city is amazing for a city this size. Law enforcement contingents work together. Community-based organizations participate.
“Give me a problem and we can solve it by working together,” he said. “Think ahead five to six years. We can make huge headways. We still have challenges, struggles, but we can make progress.”
His four-point talk involved the foundation, programs, technology and new issues.
The foundation refers to city and county law enforcement and how the two get along. There is pretty clear communication with various groups talking to each other. The City Schools’ top cop, Don Braun, is as important at the table as San Diego Chief of Police, William Lansdowne. When there’s an event like the Super Bowl that needs the FBI, the FBI calls and says “how can we help” rather than telling the police what they will do.
Maheu cited several programs that work well. The diversion program provides solutions to teen crime other than juvenile hall. In some cases, teens judge other teens, which is more successful than an authoritative adult handing down a sentence. Community service is often a sentence that turns a kid around.
The School Safety Patrol has never had a fatal accident since its inception in 1935. Fifth-graders take their duty as crossing guards seriously. Safe Routes to School, which addresses curfew and loitering, is a program that he recommends to parents. Not only is it important to get the kids back to school, but also police and parents must look at “the whole problem” and work together with family in order to make a better solution.
Stranger-Danger talks are all important. The RSVP (Retired Senior Volunteer Patrol) gives some of these speeches to the school kids. RSVPs are retired folks who volunteer to patrol a community. They love to talk to the little ones about being careful to whom they talk.
Teen relationship violence is addressed also, including how to avoid confrontations and date-rape drugs. It’s all about trust and making the right decision.
Star Pal is the Police Athletic Program. Not only are athletics learned, but reading and education are embraced. It’s all about the kid who isn’t necessarily the star athlete, but one who learns to play on a team. Maheu stressed the fact that the city shouldn’t take money from the Park and Rec Department for the police because “on the field, in the gym, these kids aren’t getting into trouble. Take money from the Park and Rec? How dumb is that?” he said.
Technology for this “closet geek,” as he describes himself, is reinventing itself each day and providing many sources for the police. The land-mobile radio system connects regional San Diego County. The upgrading of the system is integrating the regional system seamlessly and within five years, San Diego and Imperial counties will be on the same radio systems. The camera programs are a double-edged sword, but they do “protect the innocent.” While he admonishes his audience to be cautious of Big Brother, the camera program in a school could provide data and information if there is a critical incident. Just think of going to the ATM and being on camera.
In regard to broadband applications, Maheu has a cell phone that has a computer-added dispatch. He can pull up the driver’s license picture of someone and get video from the phone.
He talked about his 17-year-old son, whose phone connected to a server in India, while the boy coordinated an attack on some video game and text-messaged other players.
“We need that on the streets,” he said.
In regard to gangs, he asked the educators not to “underestimate what a great job we’ve done.” The school officers came in for praise with the “phenomenal job about gangs.” After-school programs like 6-to-6 provide a safe place for kids after school.
Maheu said that he has about 10 minutes of quality time/influence time with his own kids each night. He encourages everyone to get their kids into band, sports and programs that provide “something for every child in schools. We can’t lose.”
As a warning and reminder to the audience, Maheu pointed out crime potentials. “MySpace” is a popular Web site that should be treated the way the Stranger/Danger treats its program.
“Watch out for strangers,” he said. “We get flustered. Tell your kids to be careful with whom they talk, whether they’re walking in the community or the cyberspace. Ask questions of your kids. Kids will be smart enough.”
He recalled being a kid with a backpack, some books and 50 cents for lunch.
“This generation has expensive cell phones and iPods that equal grand theft, if they are stolen,” he said. “Tell kids to be careful of their belongings.”
His final point was getting adults involved in their own children’s lives and the lives of other children, encouraging adults to listen to these kids.
“Exponentially, we can make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.