Chief Patrick Fuller has been at the helm of the Austin Independent School District Police Department since it was created in 1986. He helped navigate it from a small security team that watched for burglar alarms on nights and weekends to today's staff of 105 with a budget of close to $7 million.
In 1986, Miami Vice was at the height of its popularity, swatches and stirrup pants were in-style, and the Austin Independent School District was establishing its police department. Patrick Fuller, a captain with the Midland County Sheriff's criminal investigations division, would be its chief.
"We were mainly nighttime. Didn't engage directly with students -- to today, where the majority of our officers are permanently stationed at our schools," he said.
That change happened in the early 1990s, when Austin was trying to combat a serious gang problem. Gang violence jumped 168 percent between 1992 and 1993.
Back then, Fuller says officers recovered about 25 guns a year from campuses. He credits the Weapons Watch Program, which is now Campus CrimeStoppers, for dropping that number to today's average of about two a year.
"The majority of the crime we see committed on campus is misdemeanors dealing with behavioral issues... simple assaults. It's always gone on on campuses. But we try to intervene earlier than before," said Fuller.
In addition to school resource officers, the department monitors hundreds of school cameras, all of the burglar alarms, fire alarms and the card key access program. The department is responsible for the safety and security of 120 AISD buildings in an area of 230 square miles.
Fuller says his proudest accomplishment is when AISD became the first school district police department to earn the recognized status from the Texas Police Chiefs Association.
But Fuller says there's still work ahead.
"The big change I see in kids... is the way they communicate, the amount of information -- that's unfiliter information -- that's available to them. Our challenge is going to be, I think, working with parents, working with schools,"
And trying to stay ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to tough issues like sexting.
Chief Fuller's last day will be April 9, 2010. He will move to the City of Austin's Parks and Recreation Department, overseeing Rangers and the Emergency Management Program. He says the position will also have a strong environmental education component for students.
