Not only does Richard Pacheco, Dartmouth High’s new school resource officer, have an extensive background in law enforcement, he also has a special connection with the school: he’s a member of the graduating class of ’88.

Pacheco started his new role on Dec. 22 following the reassignment of officer Paul Arruda last month. Pacheco has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice, served in the Air National Guard for nine years and has worked with the Dartmouth Police Department for 19 years.

Sergeant James Storey, who helps supervise the position, said Pacheco will have a variety of responsibilities as a resource officer.

“School security is important. This school department has responsibility for the safety and security of these kids every day. But that’s half of his job,” said Storey. “He can be a mentor. He has a lot of real-life experience. He knows how to help people in need. He cares about kids and families.”

When the Dartmouth Police Department announced that Pacheco would be taking the job, Acting Police Chief Robert Szala said Pacheco was selected in part due to his background as a field training officer, where he served as a mentor for new recruits.

After graduating from a police academy, new hires undergo a 23-week program. Recruits will shadow a field training officer to gain first-hand experience with day-to-day operations at the department. While new hires only shadow officers at first, they eventually gain more responsibility as the program progresses.

“It’s a good opportunity to get to know the people you work with,” said Pacheco. “Everybody has their strengths and weaknesses.”

To be easily accessible to students, Pacheco’s office is in the media center, the high school’s central hub and modern day library. His office is lined with recliners and a couch in case a group of kids need to pay him a visit.

“If students have any questions about the law, the court process, if they’re being harassed or if there’s something going on at home that they’re not comfortable with, they can come here and talk to me, and I can be the avenue to the police department,” Pacheco said.

Storey said that students can approach the school resource officer if they hear about a fight after school or need a mediator to step in during a complicated situation.

“They can intervene and get the school involved and come to a meaningful resolution,” Storey said.

But acting as a resource is only half the job. Pacheco said part of his responsibilities will include walking around the building, keeping an eye out for any breaches in security. As an employee of the police department, he’s separate from the school’s own security team, but works alongside them.

Pacheco said that school security and officials will communicate via handheld transceivers, and if there is a situation, multiple staffers will head toward the area to address the issue.

Not only did Pacheco work security and law enforcement in the Air National Guard, he was also stationed in the emergency room at St. Luke’s Hospital. He said that role was somewhat similar to his current role in that he wasn’t in the ER to generate high arrest numbers, he was there to make sure everyone remained safe.

Moving forward, Pacheco said that he’s meeting with school officials and members of the police department in the near future to further define expectations and guidelines for the school resource officer position.

He said he’s looking forward to getting involved at the school and helping maintain the relationship between the school system and the police because “it results in a positive outcome for the kids.”

“We like the resource officers to get involved after school as well,” said Storey. “It gives kids another way to interact with the officer. If they see him on the sidelines at a football game, they can walk up and talk to him. It’s important that we have a presence.”