On Tuesday evening, March 4, 2014, the Menlo Park City Council unanimously approved an agreement with Facebook to fund a police officer position for a three year term. This agreement has an option for Facebook to extend an additional two years. The position will handle neighborhood issues such as truancy, school and business safety, and enhance overall neighborhood security. The Community Safety Police Officer will start April 1, 2014, and will work out of the new Neighborhood Service Center on Hamilton Avenue, which is in close proximity to several schools and businesses.
Officer Mary Ferguson-Dixon has been selected for this position. Mary has been with the Menlo Park Police Department for 8 years. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice/Sociology and in addition to her police officer training in several areas; she attended the School Resource Officer class certified by California’s Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST), and she has attended multiple trainings on juvenile diversion and truancy.
Mary is a pro-active police officer that has already built a relationship with the schools in Menlo Park. She enjoys working with kids and her passion and enthusiasm for truancy abatement will drive the department’s program in a successful direction for the youth of Menlo Park. She has attended meetings at the schools with the staff and parents to come up with solutions to improve the attendance of their children. Mary’s goal is to educate the youth about bicycle safety, stranger danger, and provide social media training for parents and teens. Her aim is to have the youth of Menlo Park and the surrounding communities to attend school on a regular basis.
Mary created and implemented a truancy abatement program for our department four years ago. She conducted home visits to meet with the parents to find out the underlying reasons why their children were not attending school and successfully reconnected several truants to schools.
In addition, Mary will work in conjunction with Sergeant Kevin Paugh to create school and business safety plans, along with offering safety presentations to the community. Kevin is one of our department instructors on critical incident management. He has attended multiple classes related to responding to work place violence, tactical response to schools and businesses, and crowd management.
The City of Menlo Park appreciates and values our partnership with Facebook. We intend for this position to be a community resource for our residents, schools, organizations, and businesses. Menlo Park Police Department will continue to build upon relationships that ensure a safe environment for all to learn, work, and enjoy.
