School resource officer Bill Pope may cruise the halls with a gun, but his real tools are encouraging words, sage advice and eager ears.
By LOGAN NEILL
Published November 13, 2003
At Hernando High, Bill Pope is known as the big man on campus, and not just because his 6-foot, 4-inch frame towers above nearly everyone at the school. Follow him around during his lunchtime stroll, and you'll see why.
Within moments of his arrival in the courtyard he is quickly surrounded. Preppies, jocks, goths, hip-hoppers, skaters, and kids that don't fit into any of the cliques know he's quick to look for any reason to strike a casual conversation.
"How's your mom doing?" he asks a young man dressed in baggy jeans and faded blue T-shirt who responds with a nod and a smile as he walks past. Eyeing a young sophomore who was talking with a group of friends, Pope calls her over.
"How's science these days?" he asks, knowing that it's a subject she doesn't like discussing much. The student explains that she's still struggling a bit but is doing better than before.
"Well, if you need some help, stop by and see me and we'll get some," offers Pope with a wink and a thumbs-up.
Not many adults can command such attention on a high school campus. But then again not many adults possess Pope's charisma. As a school resource officer his job might be defined narrowly by the gun and handcuffs he carries daily as an employee of the Hernando County Sheriff's Department. However, ask Pope what's the essence of his day-to-day role, and you're apt to get a much broader definition of his work.
"I see myself as a person who, like everyone else on the staff at the school, wants to make a positive mark on young people's lives," says the 39-year-old Pope. "A lot of what I do here revolves around me being a cop, but sometimes the greatest good comes by being a good listener. It works better with kids than most people think it does."
Pope does do a lot of listening. Mornings in his office resemble a busy coffee shop, with students popping in and out for friendly chat or to take a load off their minds. Sometimes, they're sent there for disciplinary problems. Whatever the reason, Pope lets them know he will give them a fair shake.
On a recent morning he spoke to a young man who was sent to him because of a minor altercation with another student. Pope, who prefers to keep his office softly lit with a desk lamp, takes ample time to listen to the teen's story. Afterward, he dispenses advice in a fatherly tone, extolling the virtues of taking a moment to cool off before acting drastically.
"You want to avoid making mistakes that you can't correct," he says. "Once you go past that point, you can't go back, and I can't help you anymore."
The sage advice that Pope dispenses daily to young people comes from experience, which includes his background as a Baptist minister.
A graduate of Hernando High, Pope chose a law enforcement career after a 12-year stint in the Army, serving two years in the Brooksville Police Department before joining the Hernando Sheriff's Department in 1997. His three years in the COPS community policing program taught him a lot about dealing with young people, he says.
"The thing that parents tend to forget is that kids this age are just learning how to become adults, and they don't always know how to handle everything that's thrown at them in the world," he said. "I see a lot of frustration as a result of a bad home life, so one of the things I try to do is offer some options that will help kids take more control of their lives."
Pope works closely with administrators and guidance counselors to help ensure that even troubled students have an avenue of hope they can travel. Indeed, many of the students who come to him do so because they feel more comfortable communicating with Pope.
"One of the most important things I've learned is that kids can sense when you don't care," said Pope. "I feel that this school has a great team working together toward the best interest of every kid, no matter what their background is. They have to feel that you're dedicated to them, otherwise they'll go someplace else, maybe not as good, to get the attention they need."
Pope admits that some of his duties are less than pleasant. At times, he's called upon to make arrests for drugs or violent behavior. Often, his instincts as a law enforcement officer have already warned him of potential problem students.
"A school is like a city," he says. "You have the good and the bad all together in one place. I try to stay on top of things and make certain that nothing gets by that we would all regret later, but the kids know I'm here to enforce the law. There's no slack when it comes to that."
Recently, Pope has been working on instituting a youth crime watch program designed to make the school even safer. The program, which will offer components such as mentoring and mediation services, and will staff hallways, parking lots and common areas with student patrols.
"The one thing I've learned in this job is that positive things have a way of bringing about more positive things," said Pope. "I feel God has blessed me in allowing me to be part of this, and giving me the opportunity to have an impact on young people's lives and to be someone they want to reach out to."
