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Emily and Nicholas, Students at Bay Meadows ES: Welcome to Mondays with Maria. Coco keeps me safe. District police keeps all of us safe. Now here's our superintendent, Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Announcer: Presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Here's OCPS Superintendent Dr. Maria Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Hi everyone. Thank you, Emily and Nicholas. They're twins in the fifth grade at Bay Meadows Elementary. Today we're celebrating our district police. The OCPS unit has been in existence for 10 years, and we're celebrating their 10th anniversary this year. We have come so far, and joining me today is District Police Chief Brian Holmes. Thank you for being here. 

Chief Holmes: Thanks for having me. Dr. Vasquez.

Dr. Vazquez: So, Chief Holmes, you have been with the District Police since the very beginning.

Chief Holmes: I have.

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah. So, can you share with us what has been your proudest moment?

Chief Holmes: Yeah, it's been an exciting ride. It really has. I think it's two, okay. Proud moments, I'd have to say. One was when Superintendent Barbara Jenkins swore us in on the eighth floor, eight A here at the Ronald Blocker Educational Leadership Center. And the president at the time when she swore us in was Pam Gould. Former board member, Linda Kobert. And Joie Cadle. It was really a very exciting day for us. Not many law enforcement officers, particularly chiefs, get to start a new police agency. And just being part of that's been really exciting, and then seeing how it's fleshed out over the years.

Dr. Vazquez: That's great. So you said there were two, so it's your second one.

Chief Holmes: The second really was here just recently, when we were celebrating our 10-year anniversary, the board had us come. Oh, yes. And they said some very kind words to all of us. Many of my team members were there because they wanted to hear what the board had to say. But just as importantly, some of our founding members. Yes. We were there as well. Randy. It was great to see them. Randy. Yes, it was, it was like a reunion for us. Randy Durkee, Mark Klayman, Jaime Alberti, Norm Envall, who is still with us, he's one of the dinosaurs like myself, still hanging around. But yeah, we were all there, and it was really nice having a reunion. George Ilemsky couldn't be here. He was out of the area, but he was traveling. 

Dr. Vazquez: Yes, he was. So, the department has really grown over the past decade. And now it includes specialized units such as compliance and Intel. Can you tell our viewers what those two areas or those two departments do within the district?

Chief Holmes: Yeah. Well, all the things that we do with district police are very important, but with that said, compliance is particularly important because we have the Office of Safe Schools. Yes. They have a lot of standards that we have to meet and or exceed. And so, with that said, our compliance team stays on top of that. Now this year, one of the things they did that was really innovative, and thank you for your support on that. We came up with a new Safer Area sign, and they literally went out and put this Safer Area sign up in every classroom and every alternative instructional space that could be a cafeteria, media center, or sometimes some officers use for small group instruction. They put this up in the best location in that room for someone to be safe in the event there was some sort of threat at the school. 

Dr. Vazquez: Yeah, great. So, I'm glad you explained that because one of the changes has been a lot of the procedural and compliance areas as a result of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas Act. And obviously we can't describe or share many of those protocols, but the safer area gives all of us an added sense of security, knowing that if there were to be an intruder or a threat to the school, each of our spaces has the area that is going to be safest for our children, for our employees to be, should that occur. So, the Intel division, tell us a little bit about that, because that's new, and it also coincides with Sheriff Mina's new initiative in his area.

Chief Holmes: It does, thank you for teeing me up on that <laugh> because we love bragging up. The work that they do. They work very closely with all of our law enforcement here in central Florida. But with that said, also with our school-based threat management teams, so they're interfaced with the threat management team at the school. If a student poses some sort of threat, we're very concerned about it; they'll get Intel involved. They have access to information that the school typically would not. And each one of those threat management teams has an SRO. But with that said, our Intel analysts provide them with information. They're not always, you know, able to just get on a computer and pull something up. They'll be on a call with them, and they'll provide them with information to make sure that we mitigate that threat. They also work very closely with the Sheriff's new unit, Criminal Intelligence and Threat Section. And so, we like to call it the threat management team.  But that particular unit is really on top of what's going on throughout the entire county. And what's really important about that is they have the ability to reach out beyond our jurisdiction. Yes. And address threats that might be out in the community themselves.

Dr. Vazquez: You've talked about how the department has changed, become more strategic, but it's also become more engaged with the community. So share with us what that entails.

Chief Holmes: Well, I think it starts at the top. I'm very fortunate to be part of the Orange Osceola Chiefs Association. I happen to have a meeting today, as a matter of fact. So, you know, I have a chance to interface with all the law enforcement leaders here in central Florida, hear what their concerns are, and then, of course, if we have anything that we would like to share. And I want to assure you, since nine of them provide services for Orange County Public Schools, us being the 10th, but nine of them do. It comes up frequently that things are associated with our schools. We work very closely with them. And it's just really great to see this strategic vision of the school board all the way back 11 years ago. Yeah. Till today, it has just really worked itself into the marrow of this organization. Yeah. It's been great. Yeah.

Dr. Vazquez: Well, this has been a wonderful conversation. Congratulations to you and your leadership. It has thrived, and we're so thankful that our district police have built a positive collaborative relationship with our schools, our students, our families, employees, and the various agencies that help keep us safe. So thank you. I appreciate you being here

Chief Holmes: Today. Absolutely. And our schools are safer than they've ever been. Yes, sir. Under your leadership, Dr. Vazquez.

Dr. Vazquez: Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you for watching. Don't forget to like, follow, and subscribe. We'll have more on our podcast. Just go to wherever you get your podcast and search for Mondays with Maria. Have a great week.

Emily and Nicholas, Students at Bay Meadows ES: But wait, here's a day in the life of Coco.

Brian Howarth, Officer: My name is Brian Howarth, and this is Canine Coco. And we're the new K-9 team for OCPS District Police. 

Brian Howarth, Officer: So, on a day-to-day basis, Coco and I will travel around from school to school doing weapon screenings. She cuts down on the search time. Dogs' noses are a hundred to 200,000 times greater than ours in terms of smell. So, to go in and do a search that may take 20 minutes for us to go through and search everything by hand. Coco does it in about three to five minutes. I started with the district police in April of 2023, and Coco and I were teamed up towards the end of April. So, we did a lot of bonding in the first couple of months before he went to training.

Jack Murray: It was just a bonding period with Brian and his dog. The dog had experience. Brian had experience. So, we bring them here and we put them through a refresher course. It helps the team bond together. It helps them know how each other works.

Brian Howarth, Officer: Girl, good job, girl.

Brian Howarth, Officer: Being a handler, it is more than just walking the dog. You have to interpret what the dog is trying to tell you. Trying to take care of the dog. So, Coco does come home with me. She lives with me. She runs around the house with my two other dogs. When she's at home. She's just the dog. So she's playing with the other dogs and just being a dog

Announcer: For an extended conversation. On today's topic, listen to the Mondays with Maria podcast. Available wherever you get your podcasts. Mondays with Maria is presented by Addition Financial Credit Union. Count us in for every step of your financial journey. Learn more at AdditionFi.com. For more OCPS news and information, visit TheSlice.OCPS.net. I'm your announcer. Emily Hannon, a student at Audubon Park School. Thanks for watching, and have a great week.