When kids see Suwannee County Sheriff’s Deputy Kim Lane patrolling their school in her cruiser, they know she is more than just an officer. She is a mentor, a teacher and a friend. In a way, she helps fight crime before it starts.

A 22-year veteran of law enforcement, Lane has been a school resource officer for the last five years. She currently serves Suwannee Elementary and Suwannee Intermediate schools.

During the day Lane teaches fifth-graders a life skills class, which promotes self esteem and tackles tough issues such as peer pressure, bullying and, of course, how to say no to drugs and alcohol. She teaches younger children about safety and the dangers of strangers and how to recognize physical and sexual abuse.

Lane’s interaction with students enables her to serve as a mentor. In this role she has seen numerous children turn around for the better.

Among the success stories she has witnessed was a student who turned from troublemaker to honor roll achiever.

“On the outside you would think he was just a bad child, but when you looked at the whole picture and starting digging through the layers, he had a lot going on,” she said.

The child, a victim of abuse, would lie awake at night shielding his younger siblings from being beaten and sexually abused.

“When he got to school that was the only time he had to vent,” she said.

The student was placed with another family and is now doing well.

Working with such students comes easy for Lane, who previously served as a victim’s advocate for eight years. During that time she helped victims — often women who suffered domestic violence — learn about the criminal justice system and gain the confidence to get out of a dangerous situation.

One former victim is a waitress-turned law student. The woman suffered through an abusive relationship, until her pregnancy gave her strength to walk away.

“Because she found out she was pregnant, it just gave her that extra strength to get out of the situation,” Lane said. “She still sends me Christmas cards to this day.”

Lane became the first victim’s advocate for Suwannee County after she wrote a grant to start the program.

Lane started her career in law enforcement with the Live Oak Police Department under former chief Jack Garrett. She began as a secretary and a dispatcher. This was when the police department operated its own dispatch system during the day.

“In Mr. Garrett’s office there was a switch and at five o’clock when we left we’d switch over and our phones would switch to the 911 dispatch at the jail,” Lane said.

Nowadays, dispatchers at the jail handle city and county calls around the clock.

When the police department was abolished, Lane was hired at the Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office by former sheriff Robert Leonard. She’s been with sheriff’s office for 18 years.

Lane is married to husband, Chris, and has four children — Trey, 24; twins Tamra and Tara, both 18; and Tori, 6.

Lane said that she hopes she makes a lasting impact in the lives of the children she serves.

“A lot of little ones that’s what they tell you they want to be. Even the girls say, ‘I want to be a policeman,'” she said.