Suspicion of gang activi

By RON X. GUMUCIO
THE JOURNAL NEWS
(Original publication: January 17, 2005)

Suspicion of gang activity at the Fieldstone Secondary School has prompted the Haverstraw town Police Department to seek funding for a school resource officer.

Police Chief Charles Miller said the Police Department applied for a COPS in Schools grant in conjunction with the North Rockland school district, after hearing from students and school officials that a local gang, One Love, and a new group, Lb. 4 Lb., were trying to recruit new members inside the building.

"There was talk of gangs trying to form up there, but we don't know to what level it's been achieved," Miller said.

Fieldstone Principal Frank Parrino denied having gangs at the school but did say a school resource officer would be beneficial. Parrino said parents and faculty have approached him about getting a full-time police officer.

"A school resource officer is a great addition to any secondary school, not only to increase the level of safety in the building but to also establish a good relationship between the Police Department and the students," Parrino said.

Miller said while police don't want to classify the groups as gangs, they are taking the matter seriously.

"We're trying to stay on top of it," Miller said. "This is a very impressionable age group."

Since opening in September, Parrino said, the school has taken every precaution to keep students and staff safe. About 1,400 eighth- and ninth-grade students attend classes at the 209,000-square-foot campus built on the former Letchworth Village Developmental Center property. The school district draws students from Stony Point and most of the town of Haverstraw.

Miller said the Haverstraw Police Department has been called to Fieldstone three times, but none of the incidents was gang related. Haverstraw Youth Officer Tony Akers routinely makes stops at Fieldstone to check on students during their lunch periods. The school also has monitors who supervise the students in the cafeterias and eight security guards who patrol the halls.

Parrino said there had been 10 fights at the school since its opening, but none was gang-related. Since September, more than 200 students have received in-school suspensions of one day or out-of-school suspensions of five days for a variety of offenses, including fighting, using excessive foul language and skipping detention. About 60 percent are not related to fighting, school officials have said.

"We've had some kids believe or say they're in one of these groups, but we've not had any direct confrontation or incidents as a result of gangs," Parrino said.

Instead, Parrino suggested that the fights stemmed more from having children from three schools getting acclimated to a new building and having no older students to keep them in check.

Marie Reeg, whose daughter Erin is a ninth-grader at Fieldstone, said she had heard about students fighting but wasn't aware of gangs in the school. Reeg said a school resource officer would help keep order in a building with more than 1,400 students.

"Earlier in the year, there were some fights, but I know they took care of that," Reeg said. "There's always fights at schools whether it's Fieldstone or the high school. At ninth grade, that's their nature."

Town Board member Paul Piperato, whose daughter Jamie is also a ninth-grader, said the school had cracked down on the number of fights. "It's a new school; I'm sure the students are testing the new administration," Piperato said. "Of course we're all concerned about our kids, but I don't have any more concern than my child going to the mall. I feel the present administration is dealing with the problem and taking every avenue to control it."

Each school district in the county has at least one school resource officer. North Rockland has two. Haverstraw Police Officer Richard Spatta is assigned to North Rockland High School. Stony Point Police Detective Robert Chewens is assigned to James A. Farley Middle School. The Haverstraw Police Department was denied the $125,000 federal COPS grant in March and October. Brian Monahan, North Rockland's assistant superintendent for administration and technology, said the district would seek other means to hire a school resource officer if the three-year grant wasn't available.