Arkansas District Adding Police Dog

Arkansas District Adding Police Dog

The Fouke School District is adding a police dog to its staff as part of school security upgrades, thanks to a partnership with Miller County Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Barrett.

  • By Jessica Davis
  • June 17, 2019

On Tuesday morning, Fouke School District and Miller County Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Barrett will introduce the district’s new police dog, Major. Barrett is entering her second year partnering with Fouke Public School District on school safety and security in south Miller County.

The partnership between Barrett and the district came together as a result of school administrators wanting to move toward a model of school security that gives the district more autonomy, rather than sticking to a traditional model involving articulation agreements between the school and the Miller County Sheriff’s Office.

"We knew what we wanted to accomplish down here in terms of campus security," Fouke School Superintendent Jim Buie said in a news release. "When we hit a road block with one entity, Mrs. Barrett was there extending the resources of her office to us and we jumped at the opportunity to partner with the Prosecuting Attorney."

Upgrades to the district’s security measures include high definition surveillance cameras with remote-access capability, an access control system on school doors throughout the district and the formation and training of school crisis teams.

District school resource officer Jeremy McClure works within the jurisdiction afforded the Miller County prosecuting attorney’s office and serves as a daily presence on school campuses and at events sponsored by the school.

The partnership also allowed the Fouke School Safety Team to purchase a narcotics detection canine named Major. McClure has been certified as a canine handler in order to work with Major at the campus and at school-sponsored events.

A student drug-testing policy recently implemented by the school will require all students who drive to school and/or who are involved in extracurricular activities to pass a mandatory drug screening.

"When we began this partnership with Mrs. Barrett, we were trying to create a school safety design that was suited for a rural school district in the 21st Century," Buie said.

Barrett is “very pleased” with the district’s campus security improvements.

"Dr. Buie has done an outstanding job obtaining the assets needed for the Fouke School District to be prepared for school safety threats," Barrett said. "He has a vision and the determination to get results, and I am pleased to partner with the school so that they may have a certified officer on staff and the ability to use a canine in the school district."

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

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