“They wanted it done yesterday,” he said. “There was no pushback or anything along those lines.”
Now the community that Maher envisioned is coming to fruition. Each school “has an officer every day that the kiddos are in the building.”
“We’ve gotten all positive feedback,” he said. “And as far as mentoring goes, I supervise the officers working in the 12 schools, so I’m out and about throughout the week at various locations. And I see the kids coming up and giving fist bumps to our guys, or I see our guys asking a fifth grader how that test went last week, how the basketball game went last evening, and those types of things.”
“They’ve really gotten to know the kids,” Maher said. “They know their families, if they have siblings or not, those types of things — those small, little details.”
He says officers are quick to sign up to work at extra events such as graduation ceremonies.
“They feel that sense of pride in seeing these kids accomplish something and moving on to the next phase,” Maher noted. “They want to be there and be a part of that special moment for those kids as well.”
“And that’s what it’s all about, is building those relationships, because once those kiddos feel that this is another trusted adult that has an interest in them, that’s when those kids will bring information to the officers,” he continued. “And that’s what could prevent a tragedy happening that very easily could be avoided.”
While other private police departments exist throughout Pennsylvania, the Greensburg Diocese is pioneering this particular model.
“We’re not the first in the commonwealth, but we’re certainly the first diocese within the commonwealth to do this,” Maher noted.
This isn’t the only initiative the diocese is taking on to help school safety. The diocese also implemented a joint venture with Catholic Charities to place counselors in the school at least one day a week, he said.
“So that occurred at the same time that the police department was being formed because we view [school violence] as a multifaceted problem that we’re trying to tackle,” Maher said. “And we’re coming at it from a bunch of different ways.”
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When asked if other areas could follow Greensburg’s model, he noted that “we’re certainly not the first to put police officers in schools by any stretch.”
“It’s just a sad commentary of society that that’s where we are, but I think it’s necessary,” he said. “I think it’s a model that could be followed in other organizations that are similar to us. But I think it can’t be the only step that is being taken to prevent some tragedy from occurring.”
Maher highlighted other improvements such as “mental health evaluations,” “resources being available to students,” and “physical security of buildings.”
“There’s a lot of components that go into making a safe environment,” he said. “But this is one of them. This is one part of it that I think is certainly necessary.”
Maher, who is Catholic, said that while his police background informs his job performance, his faith is important as a moral foundation.
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