High school resource officer keeps students on the right path
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

Deputy Leonard Lopez

Deputy Leonard Lopez spends his entire day on campus at Moorpark High School working with students, teachers and school administrators to ensure that the campus is safe. He also strives to be a role model for young people.

"I'd like to reenforce the importance of an education and let the students know they'll be held accountable for their actions and the decisions they make," said the new high school resource officer.

In dealing with troubled teenagers, Lopez draws on his experience working with juvenile offenders. He came to the Moorpark campus in August.

"Having a full-time high school resource officer on campus provides a sense of safety and security to students, parents and staff," said Mayor Patrick Hunter.

"Lopez demonstrates an enormous amount of patience, kindness, and care toward our students: he's able to do this while still maintaining his presence as a law enforcement officer," Carrie Pentis, assistant principal at MHS.

Most crimes at Moorpark High are committed by a small percentage of repeat offenders who are involved with drugs, vandalism, theft and gangs, he said.

As an active member of law enforcement, Lopez can quickly and skillfully resolve any issue that may come up before it becomes a broader concern, he said.

The sworn deputy also hopes to create positive relationships between students and law enforcement representatives.

"All too often, the first contact between a high school student and law enforcement is negative," Hunter said, "but we like to create a warm relationship that enables students to see the deputies as human beings who care about the safety of students."

When someone commits a crime on campus, Lopez, who's made 16 arrests in the last month, handles the criminal aspects and the school handles the administrative process.

"Dealing with juveniles is a little harder- they don't get booked in jail, they just get citations and they're usually released to their parents," the deputy said.

Authorities try to intervene by imposing community service on the offenders, but they need the assistance of parents to keep the juveniles on the right track in the long run, Lopez said.

"The problem is most of these kids are not taught the importance of making the right decision. They don't have consequences and they don't realize how it affects their future," Lopez said.

Many young lawbreakers come from single-parent homes and they act out in school, he said. They're generally not involved in school activities or sports, so they're not attached to the school, according to Lopez, who began working with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department in 1998.

Prior to that, Lopez worked with the Ventura County Probation Department as a corrections services officer assigned to Ventura County Juvenile Hall.

After graduating from the sheriff's academy, he became a Jail Training Officer, instructing deputies in the custodial care of inmates.

He was then assigned to patrol in Fillmore, where he worked for six years.

During that time he also trained to deal with suicidal, mentally ill and unstable individuals through the Crisis Intervention Training certification program.

Lopez transferred to the Moorpark Police Department in 2007, where he worked on patrol and on the bike enforcement detail until he was appointed to his current position as the Moorpark High School resource officer.

The deputy grew up in Somis and graduated from Adolfo Camarillo High School in 1990. He completed his training at the Ventura County Police and Sheriff's Reserve Academy in 1995.

When he's not handling law enforcement matters, Lopez enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, attending sporting events and traveling.