Police School Liaison

Waupun Police School Liaison Officer Dumke

Welcome Officer Graham Dumke as the Waupun School District's next Liaison Officer!  Officer Dumke has been with the Waupun Police Department since 2020.  Officer Dumke is very excited to begin working with the school district and meeting the students from each school.  

Statement of Purpose

The school holds a central place among agencies that affect the ideas and activities of children. Beyond the family, they are the first institution which has the opportunity to perceive and analyze the problems of children. It is appropriate to implement a program aimed primarily at prevention of these problems through education, communication, and understanding between the school/youth/police and the community.The concept of the Police School Liaison Officer Program may be defined within several areas. The officer is visualized as a counselor, resource person, and educational aide, in addition to being a law enforcement officer, who by definition has an obligation to serve, protect, and uphold the law. The second role of the Police Liaison Officer is to be a resource person to/for the student, his/her family, the school, and the community. The third role is that of being a referral agent. The PSL officer should be intimately acquainted with the kinds of help that are available on the local level to young people and their families. The PSL Officer may serve an educational function by assisting, in the provision of courses of study designed to acquaint students with the law, the ways in which it operates on the local/state level, and how it touches their lives.

Program Goals

  1. To help youth and adults view the police department as a helping agency.
  2. To decrease the amount of future offenses by concentrating on preventative measures.
  3. To increase the reporting of offenses committed against youth and their property.
  4. To decrease the number of offenses committed in schools or near school property.

Program Designs

  1. A plain clothes Youth Services Officer will be located in the Waupun schools on a regular schedule.
  2. Opportunities can be provided for students, parents, and/or school staff to meet privately with police liaison officer.
  3. Meetings with the police liaison officer are arranged on a self-referral or call-in basis. Interviews with youth are conducted with school staff present when circumstances dictate such a need and consistent with board policy.
  4. The police liaison officer serves as a resource in helping the school staff develop law-related curriculums and serves as a resource in setting up such related programs.
  5. When appropriate, the police liaison officer is invited to attend staff meetings, work in classrooms with teachers, be involved in student, teacher, parent conferences, and meet with students in both formal and informal situations.
  6. The police liaison officer works under the authority of the Chief of Police and in cooperation with the school staff.
  7. Financial support of the police/school liaison program is a joint obligation of the police department and schools. Office space and supplies are provided by the school district.
  8. Police/school liaison officers -do not function in the role of maintaining school discipline, but serve as a resource person whenever appropriate.
  9. The police/school liaison program focuses on communication, assistance and prevention; it is not a response to discipline problems in Waupun Schools.
  10. The police/school liaison program is not merely a way for the police department to gather information, although in reality this may also occur as an incidental function.

Email Officer Dumke, Graham <graham.dumke@waupunpd.org>

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