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THE FIRST STEP IN ESTABLISHING TRUST: SHOWING UP
Park City School Resource Officer Trent Jarman is a familiar presence on the Kearns Campus, and that’s by design
As the school resource officer, Jarman helps ensure the safety of students, teachers, faculty, and visitors at the four schools on the Kearns Campus (McPolin Elementary, Treasure Mountain Jr. High, the Learning Academy, and high school). The school resource officer is part of the Multi-disciplinary Task Force, a consortium of city, county, and state officials that provides a full continuum of care to address issues involving children and families.
What is your background, and what led you to become the school resource officer?
I’ve been a police officer for 20 years, and have worked for the Park City Police Department for 11 years. In January, I moved into this role. Before this, I was a juvenile detective, which means I investigated crimes committed against and by kids. My current position was a natural fit: 99 percent of this job is establishing a rapport with the students and earning their trust. I have some experience with that.
Describe a typical day.
A typical day is anything but typical: it all depends on what I encounter. I’m either being proactive or reactive, but I prefer being proactive. My first job is to get to know the students—and that means being out in the halls. I know most of the kids by sight, many by name. I love having conversations with them. It’s interesting to see their expressions when I walk up: they have the “cop shock,” but when I start talking casually to them, they relax. I want a conversation with me to be an ordinary interaction. If kids see you as a person, as a friend, they’ll be more apt to discuss what’s going on.
By getting to know the students, I can also get a sense of who might be struggling. If I notice someone isn’t at school, I might drive to their house to offer them a ride. I often accompany the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) staff on home visits, especially if I know a child who lives in the home and DCFS is there on another matter. Most of the time, an isolated incident is anything but isolated.
No matter the infraction, we like to intervene early, before a problem escalates. If a kid skips school, for example, we’ll set up a meeting with the school counselor and vice principal and set a path for corrective action. Small problems only turn into big problems if left unattended. And studies show that students who stay in school tend to graduate. Curbing truancy is one of the most effective ways to help children have a better life.
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How is working in schools different from walking a beat?
A school or campus is just a city within a city. There’s infrastructure, food, transportation—just at a different scale. And it has all the same problems as a city: I deal with sex crimes, drugs, assaults, theft.
One of the biggest problems is also one of the most worrying: a lot of kids are vaping, or smoking e-cigarettes. Vaping is so dangerous, but there’s a misconception that it’s relatively safe. There are 168 known carcinogens in the flavoring alone! And the hotter the coil pen, the more toxins will be emitted. Lungs in people who vape are starting to exhibit what’s called “popcorn lung”: healthy lung tissue turns to scar tissue. I don’t know about you, but I would like to have full lung capacity, especially if I was an athlete. Kids need to understand that vaping will constrict their breathing for the rest of their lives.
What’s the main reason kids act out?
The common thread is always related to mental health. Mental health issues cross every socio-economic stratum: we’re all human, and most of us are dealing with similar problems. We really need to get a handle on addressing mental health as a society, which is why I’m very encouraged by the strides the county and City are taking.
As you said, if there’s trouble at home, a child is more likely to act out at school. Do you take a holistic approach to addressing behavioral issues?
Yes, we’re structured as a multi-disciplinary team, or MDT. The MDT is composed of police officers, county sheriffs, DCFS, the Summit County prosecutor’s office, Children’s Justice Center, and other community resources. Each entity has a defined role, but we all share information and staff each case as a team. By connecting the dots, we are trying to ensure that we are getting to the root of a problem, not just addressing the obvious symptoms.
Who heads up the MDT?
Everyone on the team is highly accountable, but our team leaders are Park City Chief of Police Wade Carpenter and Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson, supported by Sheriff Justin Martinez.
If you could wish for anything to increase safety on campus, what would it be?
I would wish for a lot more wishes. We’re very lucky to have a school resource officer, especially for a city our size. And we’ve added important safety technology, including cameras. But the design of our school buildings is very dated: they were built considering fire as the primary threat. Schools are built not to burn, but that also means they have a lot of doors and egresses. We are starting to rethink the security profile for schools, and I hope new precautions will make everyone feel safe. In the meantime, I’ll keep walking the halls, talking to kids.
Learn more about the Multi-disciplinary Task Force in upcoming issues of this newsletter. We will be interviewing the community police officer and city and county representatives for the Children’s Justice Center.
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