Union City School Resource Officer

The School Resource Officer program for the Union City Police Dept. utilizes a variety of tools in helping to create a safer learning environment for the students of the Union City School System. Officer Raphe A. Whaley has been the SRO at Union City High School and the Union City Middle School since the spring semester of 1999. Officer Whaley works in a variety of capacities at both schools, from assisting with student problems for the administrations, to teaching D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. and other law enforcement related programs at both schools. The SRO program in Union City will expand beginning with the fall semester at East Side School, when Officer Stephanie Marshall begins there as that school's full time SRO. SROs are integral in facilitating a bonding mechanism between students and law enforcement officers, and providing safety and security for students in today's changing society .

The D.A.R.E. program was initially taught at the Union City Middle School in the fall semester of 1994 by Officer Rahpe A. Whaley. Officer Whaley taught 6th grade students at the Middle School for three years, until Sgt. Melvin Dowell began teaching the core curriculum at East Side School. Officer Whaley then began teaching an expanded version of D.A.R.E. to 7th graders that same year. Officer Stephanie Marshall is now teaching the core curriculum to 5th graders at East Side school.

G.R.E.A.T. (Gang Resistance Education And Training) was a program started in Phoenix, AZ. for the purpose of reaching children endangered by gang involvement. Similar in scope to D.A.R.E., the program is very instrumental in focusing positive attitudes about non-involvement in gangs and how to cope with the prob1ems associated with the gang lifestyle. Officer Whaley has been teaching the program to 7th graders at the Middle School since 1999.

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