ROCKWELL CITY - Larry Schoop has been working as an officer of the law to keep Rockwell City a safe place to live for the past 22 years.

Serving as the chief of the Rockwell City Police Department for the past 15, Schoop has been a police officer for most of his life.

Even after 24 years of public service, he said every day is different and he never ceases to be surprised.

"The job definitely has its ups and downs, but that is what keeps it interesting," he said. "Just when you think you have seen and heard it all, something else happens to add a new chapter in your book."

Working in a small town with four full-time officers in his department, Schoop and the officers wear several different hats and have to be ready to deal with diverse issues from traffic enforcement and accident investigations to domestic disputes and drug cases.

"You have to be well versed in all areas of law enforcement," he said, "We don't have a special detective unit, we don't have an accident investigation unit. We have to do it all."

Schoop said that he likes to think that they are a proactive police department.

"It is easier to stay ahead of the game rather than try to catch up when a new problem arises," said Schoop.

Which means that for Schoop, working to make Rockwell City a great place to live is more than just arresting criminals. It's educating youths as well. Schoop has been a D.A.R.E. instructor for the past 18 years, teaching fifth-grade students to stay away from drugs, helping them make responsible decisions and keeping them violence-free.

"I have built some great friendships through the D.A.R.E. program throughout the years," he said, "It amazes me that several years down the road some of my former students will come up to me and mention something about the D.A.R.E. program that has stayed with them and helped them through a difficult time in their life."

Schoop knew since his early years in high school that he wanted to get into law enforcement, originally enrolling in the Rockwell City Police Department's law enforcement explorer program, learning different aspects of police work and riding along with different officers to see what the job entailed.

Since then, besides serving nine months as an officer in Guthrie Center and a year in Manson, Schoop has been policing the streets of Rockwell City.

Although almost every day brings something different, one thing that does stay the same from day to day is attending the Tel A Tend program. Tel A Tend is a computer program that operate 365 days a year for the elderly and those that don't have anyone to check on them on a regular basis.

It calls them once a day in the morning to make sure they are all right. If no one answers the phone or if the phone is picked up and isn't hung up it triggers a call to the law enforcement center, alerting an officer to the residence.

"Several times we've had to go and check on people. They've fallen or have been sick and haven't been able to get to the phone," said Schoop.

The program is free of charge. Anyone interested can contact city hall and fill out a short form to get signed up.

Along with his fellow officers and the community, Schoop said the community has always been very supportive of his police department.

"Everyone in our community is important to me and I just want our citizens to know we are always here for them," he said. "We have a great mayor and city council. They are very supportive of our police department and are willing to listen to any of our concerns or suggestions to help us keep Rockwell City safe and a great place to live."

Contact Ian Schmit at (515) 573-2141 or ischmit@messengernews.net