Officer Ted Brown sits in his office after patrolling the halls. Photo provided: Kaila Himes

By Emmelyn Brandt

After working in the police force for over 19 years, officer Ted Brown takes on a new challenge. He is now the head of security at Plymouth High School.

This is the first year the high school has had a security guard on staff every single day. He has many specific duties to the school each day. Officer Brown is in charge of making the school a safe environment, patrolling the hallways and building relationships to prevent incidents from happening. He informs the students of the repercussions the decisions they are going to make before they make them. When asking Officer Brown about how his current job compares to his last job, he describes how it is not really that different. He said, “In reality it’s not a whole lot different, before I was a police officer with 10,000 citizens and 24 officers and now I have about 1,100 citizens to one officer.” He also compares how before he patrolled in a squad car, and now he just travels by foot.

Something that is very key to Officer Brown is being able to interact with students. He is a volunteer  football coach for the high school football team, and he finds this to be very helpful. Officer Brown wants students to feel comfortable around him. He said, “I watch the ones that refuse to look at me, and then I try and talk to them.” Being able to connect with students helps them have a better understanding of why he is in the school. During lunch period he wanders the tables, grabs a seat with students and chats with them. All of the new faces is something he enjoys and getting to know each student. He absolutely loves being in a school each an every day. He said, “I pray each day that I can reach at least one kid that day.” Officer Brown wants to be able to reach out to students, and help them make better decisions for themselves.

Students have mixed emotions about having a security guard in the school everyday. He hopes they view him in a good way. “I know some kids do not like the police, but I treat them with respect and I am always honest,” said Brown. Many students have different perspectives of how they view Officer Brown in the school. Sophomore Mason Coffin said, “It is kind of weird. I know he is here for safety reasons, but with his guns and handcuffs it puts butterflies in my tummy.” There are many other positive reviews about having an officer at our school. “If someone tries to come in our school or breaks in Officer Brown will handle it to keep us safe,” said freshman Sierra Carrington. Safety seems to be the feeling being shared by students. Freshman Victoria Leazenby feels as though she is safer and the amount of fights is decreased when there is an officer around. Other students hold a different opinion. Junior Madison Woods said, “It is horrible that this school has so many kids that can’t just be mature, wise, young adults [and] use common sense. I am sure that if most people were like that then there would be no more fights and threats, and everyone would just be able to get along.” Many students do agree that having an Officer Brown on staff is not a bad thing at all. Senior John Stillson describes it as feeling like a tall cold glass of water on a hot summer day.