Grant allows North Liberty to hire new officer

NORTH LIBERTY - The North Liberty Police Department has received a federal grant allowing them to hire a new officer that will work with schools in the city.

The city announced earlier this week that it was one of just 215 agencies to receive a Community Oriented Police Support, or COPS, grant from the Department of Justice. The three-year, $125,000 grant will support up to 75 percent of a new officer's salary and benefits. The City of North Liberty will pick up the remainder of the tab.

'We're really excited and surprised we received this reward,” Police Chief Diane Venenga said Thursday.

Venenga said when she applied for the grant, she envisioned the new hire allowing the department to create a position for an officer that would work on school-related issues, at least on a part-time basis. The officer would still maintain regular patrol duties, Venenga said.

North Liberty is currently home to four elementary schools and a junior high. A high school is slated to open in 2017 and Venenga said she wants to be prepared for that day in advance.

'Since the high school is coming on board, we wanted to get our foot in the door ahead of time,” she said. 'This is just planning.”

Venenga said the department has an officer that is trained in doing safety presentations and talks at the city's schools and day cares at those agencies' request. That officer would become the school officer and also work on 'quality of life issues” at the schools, such as speed enforcement and proper use of handicap parking spaces.

One thing this officer will not be is exclusively assigned to patrol within the schools. Following the Dec. 14, 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn., some school districts explored putting armed officers in the schools as a deterrent to future school shootings. The Iowa City Community School District, which has schools in North Liberty along with the Clear Creek-Amana School District, explored the idea of adding a school resource officer to one of Iowa City's two high schools in May 2013, but ultimately sided against it.

'That is not what the intended position is for,” Venenga said.

The new hire would bring the North Liberty Police Department up to 18 fully sworn officers. The city will have to go through a recruitment and hiring process to find the new officer. Venenga said she hopes to have that process started by next July, but may seek city council approval to begin earlier.