Who are school resource officers?

School Resource Officers (SROs) are school-based law enforcement officers that serve to promote safe schools. School resource officers first emerged in the schools in the 1950s, but their presence significantly increased in the 1990s (Thompson & Alvarez, 2013).

 

What is their role?

SROs serve three main roles: “(a) law enforcement, (b) teaching, and (c) mentoring” (Counts et al., 2018). However, the role of SROs can differ between schools (more disciplinarian vs. service oriented), which has led to controversy regarding their presence in the school (Madfis, 2016). For more information, please visit https://nasro.org/.

 

 

Opposing Viewpoints

There are mixed views on the use of SROs in schools in relation to perceptions of safety.

Positives:

• More interactions with SROs increased positive attitudes toward SROs (Theriot, 2016).

• Having positive relationships and views of SROs can lead to an increase in feelings of safeness and an increase in likeliness to report a crime (McDevitt & Panniello, 2005).

• Students who felt connected and had positive attitudes about SROs felt safer, but interacting with SROs was not related to feeling safe (Theriot & Orme, J. G, 2014)

• Race, ethnicity, and year in school do not influence perceptions of SROs (Brown & Benedict, 2005) or perceptions of safety (Pentek & Eisenberg, 2018).  

Drawbacks:

• The presence of SROs in schools can result in feelings of unsafeness and fearfulness (Bachman, Randolph, & Brown, 2011)

• Because school shootings are rare, some suggest that SROs use their time in a disciplinary way, increasing the risk of students entering the juvenile justice system (Thompson & Alvarez, 2013) and reinforcing the school to prison pipeline (Counts et al., 2018).

• Lack of clear training procedures and roles/responsibilities while in the school (Ryan et al., 2018)

 

Best Practices and Recommendations

1. School mental health professionals should collaborate with SROs to inform them of positive, preventative practices (e.g., PBIS) in the school (Thompson & Alvarez, 2013)

2. “SRO programs may benefit from training on youth development, relationship building, structural racism, diversity, racial equity, and de-escalation, to improve student perceptions of SROs” (Pentek & Eisenberg, 2018)

3. Discussion about the role and function of the SROs should occur between the school and law enforcement (Thompson & Alvarez, 2013; Counts et al., 2018)

4. “To ensure SROs are used effectively, we recommend that states:

   1. establish policies regarding the use of SROs

   2. establish...specific roles and responsibilities for SROs

   3. increase SRO training to include behavior management, child development, communication techniques, and disability awareness

   4. develop a data collection and reporting systems that allow programs to be evaluated for effectiveness in reaching goals so that data-driven decisions regarding changes in implementation of SRO programs can be made, including processes that thoroughly evaluate the need for SRO programs within schools” (Counts et al., 2018)

 

Resources

Bachman, R., Randolph, A., & Brown, B. L. (2011). Predicting perceptions of fear at school and going to and from              school for African American and White students: The effects of school security measures. Youth & Society, 43(2),          705-726.

Brown, B., & Benedict, W. R. (2005). Classroom cops, what do the students think? A case study of student perceptions

    of school police and security officers conducted in an Hispanic community. International Journal of Police Science        & Management, 7(4), 264–285. http://dx.doi.org/10.1350/ijps.2005.7.4.264.

Counts, J., Randall, K. N., Ryan, J. B., & Katsiyannis, A. (2018). School Resource Officers in Public Schools: A                  National Review. Education and Treatment of Children, 41(4), 405-430.

Jonson, C. L. (2017). Preventing school shootings: the effectiveness of safety measures. Victims & Offenders, 12(6),          956-973.

Madfis, E. (2016). “It’s better to overreact”: School officials’ fear and perceived risk of rampage attacks and the                   criminalization of American public schools. Critical Criminology, 24(1), 39-55.

McDevitt, J., & Panniello, J. (2005). National Assessment of School Resource Officer Programs: Survey of Students in

     Three Large New SRO Programs. Document Number 209270. US Department of Justice.

Pentek, C., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2018). School resource officers, safety, and discipline: Perceptions and experiences

      across racial/ethnic groups in Minnesota secondary schools. Children and Youth Services Review, 88, 141-148.

Ryan, J. B., Katsiyannis, A., Counts, J. M., & Shelnut, J. C. (2018). The growing concerns regarding school resource

      officers. Intervention in School and Clinic, 53(3), 188-192.

Thompson, A. M., & Alvarez, M. E. (2013). Considerations for integrating school resource officers into school mental

     health models.

Theriot, M. T. (2016). The impact of school resource officer interaction on students’ feelings about school and school

     police. Crime & Delinquency, 62(4), 446-469.

Theriot, M. T., & Orme, J. G. (2014). School resource officers and students feelings of safety at school. Youth Violence       and Juvenile Justice, 14(2), 130–146. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1541204014564472.