A resource officer is the specific officer that is assigned to a school to monitor and be at the school throughout the day, working for the Omaha Police Department as well as OPS. “Being in a high school, you’re around young adults, future scholars, and people that really want some direction in life. And this makes the job even easier,” Central’s new resource officer David Preston said. 

He is at the school every day of the week to make sure everything runs smoothly in the hallways, at pick up, and many other behind the scenes things. “My daily work day varies, for example I write reports, do a lot of investigations, in and outside of school, and sometimes that even leads to working with detectives,” Preston said.  

The work of any officer is never dull and can be quite the undertaking at times. “As an officer, your decision means everything, and can have a lasting impact on the rest of your life or someone else’s life,” Preston said. Even with the hectic schedule and circumstances, he takes much seriousness and pride in his job.  

“My job as a resource officer allows me to help students in a lot of ways, and many police officers don’t like doing that. They just want the adrenaline of fighting crime,” he said. For an officer that is trained to deal with high impact situations such as Preston, it can sometimes get difficult knowing when to hold back that training. He has a very clear understanding of the school environment and uses this knowledge when addressing students and administration.  

As a part of getting to know the students and forming a bond with them, Preston definitely wants to be someone that students can come to and recognize as a friendly face. “When the barrier between a student and police is broken, they will realize their whole world changed, not just towards police, but people is general,” he said.  

Although it is his first year working at Central, Preston has started to become familiar to some students. “With 2,500 students, the hardest part would be getting all of them to have trust in the police force and having them feel comfortable to open up,” he said.  

He has greatly benefitted from being a resource officer over the years. “Having the interaction with a lot of people and their families is rewarding because sometimes you’re able to help people that think there is no help,” Preston said.  

His connection to the school setting and how everything runs can be seen in his strong work ethic and devotion to his job. “I used to go here years ago, and seeing how the administration is obviously on point is great,” says Preston. “There appears to never be an indecisive moment where they don’t know what to do.”  

So far Preston has been an excellent addition to the security team. He deeply shows how much he cares for the well beings of the students and the school. “I have been wanting to come to Central for a couple years, and it’s great to be in this type of positive environment.”