Safety First: Talking with Hockinson’s new school resource officer

Clark County Sheriff’s Deputy Bill Sofianos makes no apologies for his love of law enforcement.

After all, being a police officer is the only career Sofianos, 38, ever envisioned for himself. Even as a kid, the idea of becoming a cop appealed to this Clark County native. More than 15 years into his career in law enforcement, Sofianos says he’s loved it all: The excitement of leading a SWAT team, the victory of catching drug dealers and burglary suspects, and the satisfaction of helping victims find justice. He’s worked night-shift for most of his career – as a patrol officer, a small crimes detective and as an assistant team leader for the Sheriff’s SWAT team.

Now Sofianos, the new Hockinson School District school resource officer, is sharing his passion for righting wrongs with a new generation.

“I’m excited about it,” Sofianos says of his new assignment. “I’m used to dealing with kids in the middle of the night who are up to no good … so it’s nice to be here, to be surrounded by a bunch of great kids.”

Since taking over as the district’s school resource officer in early January, Sofianos has visited with safety personnel, administrators, staff and students from Hockinson’s elementary, middle and high schools and started to think about what works, safety-wise, for the district and what might need to be improved.

“So far, I’m really impressed with this school district,” Sofianos says. “The staff and the security (guards) and the students have all been great. The kids want to know how they should react in an emergency. They come to me and talk about these things … And everyone, from the superintendent down, wants to know how we can make the district safer. They’re really open here. They want to be the best we (as a district) can be.”

Sofianos splits his time between the three Hockinson schools, but keeps an office at the high school. The married father of two teenage children, Sofianos wasn’t sure what to expect from his new role as a school resource officer (SRO). On the one hand, he knew his own kids were good kids and fun to be around, but on the other hand, he had spent the majority of his working days (nights) around teens who were dealing drugs, committing burglaries and behaving badly. Would he regret becoming an SRO? So far, Sofianos says, the job has surpassed his expectations.

“I never saw myself working in a school,” Sofianos said. “But I’m excited about this. The people here are so engaged and willing to work together to improve safety at the schools. Maybe if I was working with a community who didn’t care, or worse, who said, ‘It can’t happen here,’ then things would be different. But the people I’ve met (in the Hockinson district) are realistic. They know bad things can happen here. They want to know how we can prevent it and, if something does happen, how to react in an emergency.”

The Hockinson School District hasn’t had an SRO for six years, but recently approved the funds for bringing Sofianos on. Nationally, the trend of placing SROs in schools has been seen as a mostly positive thing.

A 2013 Congressional report showed that an increased SRO presence in high schools has coincided with a decrease in the number of “serious violent victimizations of students while at school and generally lower numbers of violent deaths and homicides at school.” In Clark County, SROs are common at most high schools as well as a number of middle and elementary schools.

Keeping everyone safe in the event of an emergency such as a school shooting is the most public part of Sofianos’ job, and it’s one that he takes very seriously. But there are other aspects of being an SRO that really appeal to Sofianos. For instance, he says, he loves talking to students about how their actions today can adversely affect their tomorrow.

“I want the kids to realize that the things they do right now matter. That certain things can go on their (permanent record) and prevent them from doing the things they want to do in the future,” Sofianos says.

Sofianos goes into classes to talk about his role as an SRO and to help the kids understand the types of things he can do to help them — from investigating bullying on social media and calming traffic near the schools to breaking up drug deals and responding to emergency situations.

“I get frustrated when kids feel like they can’t trust officers,” Sofianos says. “I want to show them that I’m a good guy, that I’ll listen to them and that they can come to me and talk to an officer without having to fear that I’m going to arrest them for skipping school or something.”

The students have responded positively to the new SRO’s presence in the schools, Sofianos says. The youngest tend to cluster around him like puppies when he comes to class and the older students bring up issues about bullying, drug use and the recent national discussion over police officers’ use of force against people of color.

“I encourage them to talk to me about those kinds of things,” Sofianos says. “I try to help them understand it from a law enforcement perspective.”

Sofianos is looking forward to helping students who may have already done a few bad things in their life, but who are open to changing their ways. As a patrol officer and a detective, Sofianos wanted to help some of the people he arrested, but didn’t often get the chance to make much of an impact in the few short hours he was with them. As an SRO, he says, he has the ability to help would-be criminals become productive citizens instead.

“I look at a kid who’s on the fence about making a bad decision, and I don’t see a bad person. I see someone I can maybe help before they make that decision. I’d like to be a mentor to those types of kids,” Sofianos says. “I get to have an impact early on. I like that.”