ROBERT PIERCE
• Leader & Times
Working as a paralegal for a local law firm for 14 years, it would seem a natural fit for Fanny Contreras’s next career step to take her to the world of law enforcement.
As a paralegal, Contreras worked with mostly criminal defense and family law, and she said she has been interested in law enforcement since her childhood.
Contreras grew up in Los Angeles, moving to Liberal at the age of 10, and in urban California, she saw much of what happens in law enforcement.
Following her time as a paralegal, Contreras came to the Seward County Sheriff’s office, where she worked for a few months as a criminal records clerk, and there, she said, she saw more of what happens with rural law enforcement and what deputies in the department did.
As she watched deputies go out on calls, Contreras said she became interested in the sheriff’s office’s reserve program.
“I started that, and that got me into ride alongs,” she said. “I was doing the ride alongs with a few deputies, and I got to see a little more. The more I saw, the more interest I got into going into law enforcement.”
Recently, a position came open for a school resource officer (SRO) in the sheriff’s office, and when she saw this, Contreras said she submitted her letter of interest to Sheriff Gene Ward. She was hired in January, and she immediately began her academy training.
Contreras is now an SRO for USD 483, and for both the district and the sheriff’s office, she is the first in the position. She said her duties include school and student safety and making sure students are safe within the district.
USD 483 has about 565 total students, and this includes Plains Elementary School, Kismet Elementary School and Southwestern Heights Junior High and SWH High School. Because Plains is part of the district, part of Contreras’s job is in Meade County.
As for a typical day for Contreras, she said that begins with school zones.
“I’ll go into the buildings, interact with staff, some of the students,” she said. “What building I’m in will determine my interaction. When I’m in the elementary schools, it will be a little more because the kids like to see you in there. I’ll interact a lot with the students. If anything comes up, we’ll handle whatever the situation is, but right now, it’s very new to the district. I am still trying to get in with the kids and build those relationships with the staff, with the students.”
As she is still law enforcement, Contreras’s training continues through the police academy, and she recently did some training through the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center for three months. As an SRO, Contreras is required to do an additional 40 hours of training, and she recently completed training in Derby through the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO).
“They have various places where they hold the training for that,” she said. “We continue to do education classes throughout law enforcement. We have to have 40 hours of training every year.”
A national conference takes place every summer specifically for SROs, and Contreras attended the most recent conference in July and completed training hours there, but she said most of her training is of the basic type.
“It’s the 40 hours we do through NASRO, and we complete that in about a week,” she said. “It’s all in person.”
Contreras said her primary goals are to provide guidance, be a positive role model and build relationships with students to allow them to open up about ongoing issues.
“My main goal is to be able to have a good relationship with the students within the district so they feel comfortable coming to me, also guiding them through the problems,” she said. “Depending on what’s going on over there and what the situation is with the students, talking it out with them and trying to figure out a resolution for them where we’re not just 100 percent punishing them. A lot of the SRO part of it is also guidance.”
Contreras said that guidance includes influencing students in a positive way and helping them navigate difficult situations.
“It doesn’t always have to be the pushing the law side of it, but more what can we do to help prevent this from happening in the future,” she said. “We ask what can we do to prevent putting them into the system? What other routes depending on the severity of what the situation is? It’s being more aware of what is going on, recognizing all the vehicles that are in there, all the people who are coming in and out of those buildings,” she said. “It’s on the highway. You never know what’s going to come your way. It’s different because it’s a smaller district, but in a way, I feel it’s a little better because you’re able to interact more with the students and the staff.”
Contreras said what she likes most is interacting with students.
“It’s been really good, especially with the younger ones,” she said. “They like to see you. They like to interact. They like to talk.”
In USD 483’s elementary schools, Contreras takes part in many activities with students, including dodge ball and a pirate-themed game where participants walk the plank, and she also participates in planned activities for certain days of the week.
“Whatever’s going on in the building, I do all of that,” she said. “The highlight of all of this is getting to know all of the students there and learning about them, where they come from, interacting with them.”
Contreras said being an SRO takes much in the way of compassion of understanding.
“There’s not just the law side of it when you’re an SRO,” she said. “It’s not just trying to find harsh punishments for these kids, trying to charge them with whatever it is. It’s understanding why they did what they did depending on the situation. It’s understanding why they did what they did and trying to figure out a solution for them.”
With this in mind, Contreras said few people can be an SRO, and she said it is much different than being on patrol.
“It’s not the same interaction, and I feel it’s a little harder to transition from the everyday patrol, dealing with those types of people and coming in and meeting kids and having to handle those situations,” she said. “Just coming straight into the SRO world for me has been easier. I can see it differently. My personality is very understanding, but at the same time, I know I have a job to do.”
Being in a rural area, it may not seem like USD 483 has much in the way of danger, but the location of the junior high and high school on U.S. Highway 54 in particular, Contreras said, still means to be cautious at school campuses.
“You never know what’s going to happen being in the schools,” she said. “The reason we’re there is to protect the students in case any situation ever arises within these buildings, and that could happen at any moment. You don’t know when or if it’ll ever happen, but it can. That’s what we’re there for. With it being on the highway, I feel we have a higher risk. Cars are just driving through. You never know who’s driving through that area.”
While the position of SRO does not bring with it the danger of that of a deputy, there is still some danger involved, and families of law enforcement naturally have concerns about the job in that realm. Contreras said while her family was initially apprehensive about her taking the job, they have seen what she does and are more understanding of the work.
Contreras is excited about this next chapter of her life, but at the same time, she said thus far, it has been a challenge.
“It’s new not only to the sheriff’s office, but to the district, but I feel we’re all working together trying to figure out what is best for the district,” she said. “The challenge for all of us is getting used to having me in the building and including me in the stuff that’s going on and also getting all the safety protocols in place for them. They already had a few things in place, and we’re coming in to make it even safer for the students. It’s been challenge, not because of anything the school is doing, but all of us learning together the steps we need to do, everything we need to build together to make a good SRO program. I’m just the first of many who are going to come.”
