District resource officer Jay Doyle walks the campus

^{By Lindsey McCurdy}

Students may have seen a police officer walking around and not known what he was doing. Don't worry, he isn't here to make a bust. He is the School Resource Officer (SRO) and he is here to benefit students. Jay Doyle started as the on campus SRO last September. As an SRO officer, he gives class presentations, works on any theft cases, and deals with harassment around the school. He also deals with traffic accidents that happen on and around the campus. Students are welcome to come to him with questions and concerns about their home life. Although he is not trained as a counselor, he tries to answer the best he can with his life experiences. Doyle commented, "Anything that is told to me will remain between the student and myself."

Last year Doyle was an SRO in the Polson School District as well as Ronan, Charlo, Mission and Arlee, but this year he works strictly in Polson. Doyle works at all the schools as needed. He has an office located near the band room in the high school. He can be also contacted through his cell phone.

Doyle was born and raised in the Mission Valley. In 1979 he moved to Alaska where he graduated from high school. He was the valedictorian of his class of four in a small Indian village southwest of Anchorage. He then returned to the Mission Valley in 1985. Doyle has two children, both in the Polson School System; Casey, a sophomore at PHS, and fourth grader Cody.

Doyle's hobbies include playing the guitar (when he gets the time), hunting (especially bow hunting), fishing, photography, hiking and scuba diving. He also in a member of the Lake County Dive Rescue Team, Special Response Team, and the Lake County Youth Violence Enforcement Unit.

Doyle decided that he wanted to become a police officer when he was 12 or 13 years old. "I thought it would be really neat but when I checked into it I was told that I was too short, so I ran into some hurdles in the beginning," he said. While he was in college that law was changed. Now any person, no matter what their height, can be in law enforcement as long as they can pass a criminal background check and perform the job.

In the fall 1987 Doyle's dream came true and he began his work in the police force. He served as a Lake County detention officer as his first duty in the force. Next, he worked for the Polson Police Department. He also was on the Bicycle Patrol Targeting Criminal Activity in the business district. Then he went back to work for the county, which currently employs him. Doyle says that the most interesting part of his job is finding evidence at the crime scene such as finger prints and DNA.

"Talking to people is my favorite part of the job. My least favorite is writing tickets and arresting people," commented Doyle.

Doyle likes working at all the schools but says that it is harder for the high school students to trust him because they have the idea that he is here just to bust them. "If the law is broken I will enforce it, and if any students have questions about some part of criminal law I would be glad to try and explain it or clarify it for them," said Doyle.

To clear up any rumor with Doyle being associated with the canine drug unit, he has nothing to do with the dogs in this district. In the past he has used the dogs at other schools in the Mission Valley because they do not have the canine program.

While working in the district, Doyle hopes to better the student/officer relationship. He wants to let the students know that officers are not better than any one else and are real people, too.

Doyle thinks that the PHS students have a great school and it is up to them to keep it a safe and fun place to be. " I am here to assist them and hopefully be of some help while I am here," he said.