Police to Beef Up Patrols at Schools in Simi Valley

Responding to calls for improved school safety, the Simi Valley Police Department has agreed to temporarily beef up patrols on the city’s junior high and high school campuses.

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For the next month, the lone police officer assigned to patrols at Simi Valley schools will be joined by two additional officers and a sergeant, Police Chief Lindsey Paul Miller said Wednesday.

And the City Council on Monday will consider hiring a second officer for its Gang Understanding and Resistance Development program, which is designed to discourage students from joining or participating in gangs. The new GUARD position would cost $63,100 for the first year, City Manager Lin Koester said.

Miller said the temporary officers are being added to reassure students and parents that the city’s schools are safe in the wake of the Feb. 1 fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Chad Patrick Hubbard at Valley View Junior High School.

“People are really sensitive right now, and we want to make sure we are able to quickly check out any rumors or possibilities of fist fights or other problems,” Miller said. “We felt it would be prudent to escalate our presence, just to make sure that nothing further happens.”

In addition to Valley View, officers will patrol Royal High School, Apollo Continuation High School, and Hillside, Sequoia and Sinaloa junior high schools. Simi Valley High School is closed because of serious damage from the Jan. 17 earthquake, and its students attend Royal High.

City Councilwoman Sandi Webb, whose daughter is a ninth-grader at Valley View, praised the Police Department’s action.

“I’m happy that the city is paying attention to this problem and not just letting it slide by and get worse,” Webb said.

At Monday’s City Council meeting, Webb tearfully implored the city to place a police officer on each junior high and high school campus at the beginning and end of the school day.

“The approach the police decided to take is a little different from what I had in mind,” Webb said. “But I’m willing to try this for a while and see how it works.”