Letter to the editor: Peck

Letter to the editor:

I'm writing this letter in response to the editorial submitted by Bernie Lattner on June 19, 2012. My name is Jason Peck and I am the School Resource Officer working in the Kasson- Mantorville Schools.

As a School Resource Officer, my responsibilities include maintaining school safety and investigating criminal activity that occurs within the K-M Schools. Being a police officer in a school setting is a very rewarding, but often times an under appreciated job. In a perfect world kids would come to school, follow all of the rules and display good citizenship towards staff and other students. When kids behave as expected the school day goes very well. Unfortunately, there are some students who engage in negative, inappropriate and sometimes criminal behavior at school. When a student decides to commit a crime, the matter is referred to me to investigate.

As with most things in life that can be contentious, these investigations often times become no win situations as it is nearly impossible to please everyone who has a stake in the outcome. However, for every parent like Mr. Lattner who does not agree with the work I do, there is a parent or student who appreciates the fact that I took the time to investigate their case, no matter how big or how small, and provided them with a resolution that they found to be acceptable. Contrary to the opinion expressed by Mr. Lattner, my focus is not on "minor infractions". Instead, my focus is on all crimes reported to me by the school district, students/staff who have been victimized or concerned parents of the student victims. On occasion I observe criminal behavior in person and I investigate these matters as well.
In his editorial, Mr. Lattner claimed that I do not focus on "drugs, violence or bullying". This statement is not only wrong, but also very irresponsible as I strongly believe drugs, violence and bullying have no place in a school setting. Had Mr. Lattner taken the time to talk with me before submitting his editorial, he would have learned that in addition to citations for "minor" offenses such as misdemeanor theft, I have also arrested or issued citations to students for drugs, alcohol consumption/possession, assault, terroristic threats and weapons on school property, some of which were felony level offenses.

While I would like to discuss the specifics of the case mentioned in Mr. Lattner's editorial, I am unable to do so because of data privacy. What I will say is that Mr. Lattner only reported some of the facts regarding this matter and of the facts he did report, some were distorted to benefit his opinion.
If anyone would like accurate information about the work I do in the K-M school district, please feel free to give me a call. I can be reached at the high school (634-1196), middle school (634-1636) or the Kasson Police Department (634-4983). While I can not give specific information about cases I have investigated, I can tell you about the types of cases that are being reported, the rationale that goes into making a decision to file criminal charges and about all of the activities I'm doing with students in the school district that have nothing to do with criminal investigations. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Jason Peck
School Resource Officer
Kasson Police Department

Supported By:
Ken Schuck
Chief of Police
Kasson Police Department