School resource officer: Difference between revisions

The [[United States Department of Justice]] defines '''school resource officers''' ('''SRO''') as "sworn law enforcement officers responsible for the safety and crime prevention in schools".<ref name=":3" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |url=https://cops.usdoj.gov/supportingsafeschools |title=COPSSupporting Office: SROSafe Schools|lastwebsite=ITU.S. |first=COPSDepartment Officeof kids and people didjdjdjd|website=cops.usdoj.govJustice |access-date=2018-02-12}}</ref> They are employed by a local [[police]] or [[sheriff]]'s department and work closely with administrators in an effort to create a safer environment for both students and staff. The powers and responsibilities are similar to those of regular police officers, as they make arrests, respond to calls for service and document incidents.

Different governments, school districts, and professional agencies have varied descriptions for the purpose of SROs. The National Association for School Resource Officers details the SRO's role as threefold: 1) as an educator, 2) as an informal counselor or mentor and 3) as a law enforcement officer.<ref name=":2" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Frequently Asked Questions – National Association of School Resource Officers |language=en-US |work=National Association of School Resource Officers |url=https://nasro.org/frequently-asked-questions/ |url-status=dead |access-date=2018-02-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160909152212/https://nasro.org/frequently-asked-questions/ |archive-date=September 9, 2016}}</ref> The United States Department of Justice includes the three prongs, and adds 4) an emergency manager or planner for a school or district.<ref name=":2" /> Johns Hopkins University's Center for Technology in Education aggregated SROs' job descriptions across the country and identified seven comprehensive purposes for an SRO, including 1) provide law enforcement and investigation, 2) develop crime prevention programs, 3) training and securing school personnel, 4) establish a working relationship with school and students, 5) develop classes related to the position, 6) assist students in conflict resolution, and 7) be a positive role model.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://cte.jhu.edu/courses/ssn/sro/ses1_act4_pag1.shtml |title=CTE – The Role of the School Resource Officer: SRO Definition – School Resource Officer Job Description |website=cte.jhu.edu |access-date=2018-02-12}}</ref>

In the 2015–16 school year, the following percentages of schools in the U.S.A. reported having one or more SROs at their school at least once per week:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017122.pdf |title=Crime, Violence, Discipline, and Safety in U.S. Public Schools}}</ref>

It is difficult to tell if the presence of SROs is having an impact on the prevalence of crime in schools and communities, likely because it is difficult to show a causal relationship between the presence of law enforcement and crime rates. For example, in a 2018 study that compared Kentucky high schools that hosted an SRO to Kentucky high schools that did not, there was no statistically significant relationship between reported criminal violation rates and the presence of an SRO.<ref>{{Citecite book |url author1=https://books.google.com/books?id=icBIDwAAQBAJ&dq=SULLIVANSullivan,+W.+ William J.,+&pg | last2=PA884Hausman |title first2=JSLCharles VolS. 27-N6| chapter=Kentucky High Schools With SROs and Without |last publisher=LEADERSHIPRowman & Littlefield Publishers |first title=JOURNALJournal OFof SCHOOLSchool Leadership | date=January 22, 2018 | isbn=978-011-224758-3676-9 |publisher=Rowman chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=icBIDwAAQBAJ& Littlefieldpg=PA884 |isbn=9781475836769 |languagepage=ar884}}</ref> However, a 2013 study that analyzed data across the United States found that schools that increase their use of police see an increase in reported crime.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Na |first=Chongmin |date=October 3, 2011 |title=Police Officers in Schools: Effects on School Crime and the Processing of Offending Behaviors |journal=Justice Quarterly |volume=30}}</ref>

A 2012 report from the National Association of School Resource Officers cites national statistics that show a general decrease in juvenile crime and the violent-crime index since the early 2000s, when SROs became especially prominent in schools.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=The School Resource Officer and the Prevention of Violence in Schools|work=National Association of School Resource Officers|date=2012|first1=Maurice|last1=Canady|first2=Bernard |last2=James|first3=Janet|last3=Nease |url=https://nasro.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/NASRO-To-Protect-and-Educate-nosecurity.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906121933/https://nasro.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/NASRO-To-Protect-and-Educate-nosecurity.pdf |archive-date=September 6, 2015}}</ref> They support this claim with a 2009 study that finds that "when the results were controlled for economic disadvantage, the presence of an SRO led to a 52.3% decrease in the arrest rate for assaults and a 72.9% decrease in arrests involving possession of a weapon on school property."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Theriot |first=Matthew |year=2009 |title=School resource officers and the criminalization of student behavior |journal=Journal of Criminal Justice |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=280–287 |doi=10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2009.04.008}}</ref> While this is true, having an SRO in the school also significantly increases the arrest rate for disorderly conduct, even when controlling for school poverty, a more subjective charge that relies considerably on the discretion of the arresting officer, as opposed to something like an assault or weapons charge that is much more objective. This result lends itself to the idea that the presence of an SRO may increase the criminalization of behaviors that could have been addressed in other ways. Further, the decrease in arrests for assault and weapon possession could be from a result of students avoiding the SROs and taking these activities off campus, not necessarily the result of them failing to commit these crimes at all. In another article, James Swift also refers to the report prepared by the Justice Policy Institute. His writing further indicates that the presence of school resource officers does not lead to a reduction in crime.<ref name="Justice URL" />

A 2011 report from the Justice Policy Institute considered the cost of SROs as compared to other full-time employees at secondary schools.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Education Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools |url=http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/educationunderarrest_fullreport.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111122120245/http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/educationunderarrest_fullreport.pdf |archive-date=November 22, 2011}}</ref> An SRO is paid at the rate of a police detective, which in 2011 was paid an average of $63,294 per year. This salary was more than both the average teacher's salary and the average school counselor's salary in 2011. Opponents of SROs often cite this as a reason to not employ an SRO, as it may strain an already tight school budget. However, in some cases, law enforcement agencies have been known to split the cost of employing an SRO with the district.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=May |first=David |date=September 28, 2011 |title=School Resource Officers in Financial Crisis: Which Programs Get Cut and Why |journal=Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=125–140 |doi=10.1080/15332586.2011.581517 |s2cid=143804330}}</ref>

MOUs often fall short{{According to whom|date=March 2018}} in clearly defining the school's role and the SRO's role in student discipline and maintaining a safe environment. As a result, an SRO may find himself/herself making decisions in the moment that disrupt the balance between student safety and students' rights. Kimberly Small, Assistant General Counsel for the Illinois Association of School Boards, recommends specifying policies, in line with applicable laws, on issues of "search and seizure, questioning of students, and requests for student records."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Small |first=Kimberly |title=IMPROVINGImproving MEMORANDAMemoranda OFof UNDERSTANDINGUnderstanding FORFor SCHOOLSchool RESOURCEResource OFFICEROfficer SERVICESServices |url=https://www.iasb.com/law/NSBAImprovingMOUForSRO2014.pdf|publisher= Illinois Association of School Boards|location= Lombard, IL |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150328033504/https://www.iasb.com/law/NSBAImprovingMOUForSRO2014.pdf |archive-date=March 28, 2015}}</ref>

Students can, however, file civil rights claims against School Resource Officers. Kerrin Wolf, an assistant professor of law at Stockton University, reviewed a series of Supreme Court decisions that have shaped the federal civil rights of students while in school. In her paper, she explores the ways in which students' rights are limited in three dimensions while in school: rights against search and seizure, interrogation rights, and free speech rights.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wolf |first=Kerrin |date=2017-09-15 |title=Assessing Students' Civil Rights Claims against School Resource Officers |language=en|journal=Pace Law Review|publisher=Pace University School of Law |location=RochesterWhite Plains, NY |ssrn=3042765}}</ref>

Only eight U.S. states currently have laws on the books regarding School Resource Officers and/or police in schools.<ref>{{Cite web|author=American Institutes for Research|title=School Discipline Laws & Regulations by Category & State {{!}} Safe Supportive Learning |url=https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/discipline-compendium/choose-state/results?field_sub_category_value=Certification+or+training |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117012239/https://safesupportivelearning.ed.gov/discipline-compendium/choose-state/results?field_sub_category_value=Certification+or+training |archive-date=November 17, 2017 |access-date=2018-02-13 |website=safesupportivelearning.ed.govNational Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments|language=en}}</ref> Generally, these laws only cover the definition of an SRO and mandate training. However, in November 2016, New Jersey signed into law Bill S86, which allows schools to hire retired law enforcement officers as SROs under the condition that they receive no benefits, can work full-time hours, are no older than age 65, and retired within three years of application to the SRO program.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://legiscan.com/NJ/bill/S86/2016 |title=New Jersey S86 {{!}} 2016–2017 {{!}} Regular Session |work=LegiScan |access-date=2018-02-13 |language=en}}</ref>

* In May 2017, an in-school police officer with the Dallas Independent School District (ISD) allegedly handcuffed and tasered a 7-year-old special needs student and, in that same week, another in-school officer at another Dallas ISD reportedly body-slammed and pepper sprayed a 12-year-old female student on campus.<ref>{{Cite news |first=E.A.|last=Crunden |work=[[ThinkProgress]]|date=May 18, 2017 |url=https://thinkprogress.org/dallas-police-schools-violence-kids-fd6cd565a8c0/ |title=Dallas school police tased a 7 year old, and then body slammed a 12 year old the next day |access-date=2018-02-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

* In October 2015, a police officer was filmed body-slamming a 16-year-old girl at her desk in Spring Valley High School in South Carolina.<ref>{{Cite news|first1=Tim |last1=Stelloh|first2=Tracy |last2=Connor|date=October 27, 2015 |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/video-appears-show-cop-body-slamming-student-s-c-classroom-n451896 |title=Video Shows Cop Body-Slamming Female Student in S.C. Classroom |publisherwork=NBC News |access-date=2018-02-14 |language=en}}</ref>

* Also in October 2015, two police officers were called into Round Rock High School in Texas to break up a fight between students. Students filmed one of the officers choking one of the 14-year-old students involved in the fight.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://cbsaustin.com/news/local/incident-between-round-rock-pd-officer-and-student-caught-on-camera |title=Incident between Round Rock PD officers and student caught on camera |last=Uchida |first=Alex Boyér and Adela |publisherwork=KEYE |access-date=2018-02-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>

* A school resource officer for Tolman High School in Rhode Island fell under investigation in 2015 for body-slamming a 14-year-old student, leading to massive protests the following day over the SRO's behavior.<ref>{{Cite news|first=Lynn |last=Arditi|date=October 15, 2015 |url=httphttps://www.providencejournal.com/articlestory/20151015news/NEWS2015/10/15/state-police-to-probe-takedown/32840608007/151019570 |title=State police to probe 'takedown' of student by officer that led to protest, arrests at Pawtucket school |work=providencejournal.comThe Providence Journal|access-date=2018-02-14 |language=en}}</ref>

SRO's are not governed by the school board. They are controlled by the laws of the state in which they work and their agencies' policies and procedures. When the law is broken by a perpetrator and there is a victim of a crime, charges must be brought. It is not the choice of school staff whether a law enforcement officer can act in filing charges.

Student Resource Officers are becoming more commonplace in American and Canadian schools, leading to increasing concerns that their presence in secondary schools could prematurely expose adolescents to the Criminal Justice System.<ref name=":5" /> School districts across the United States are implementing criminal justice system practices in order to achieve a safe schooling environment; however, this comes at the cost of exposing youth/adolescents to the criminal justice system and tarnishing their educational achievements for situations that in the past would likely have been handled through disciplinary action within the school.<ref name=":5" /> This is seen by some as contributing to a phenomenon commonly known as the [[school to prison pipeline]].<ref>Failing{{cite toweb include|last1=Sneed SROs|first1=Tierney in|title=School schoolsResource wouldOfficers: beSafety seenPriority asor leaving kids at-risk due to current trends in gun violence in America. The majorityPart of schools are realizing the needProblem? to protect kids from these types of threats so they can focus on learning. [|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/01/30/are-school-resource-officers-part-of-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-problem ''School|website=[[U.S. ResourceNews Officers:& SafetyWorld PriorityReport]] or Part of the Problem?'', Tierney Sneed, USA Today, Jan.|date=January 30, 2015]. Retrieved 2017-12-03}}</ref>

A criticism of school resource officer programs pertains to the rate of juvenile arrests. In a 2011 article by Amanda Petteruti issued by the Justice Policy Institute, information is presented that indicates that school referrals to the juvenile justice system have increased with the presence of SROs. A high percentage of those referrals were for minor offenses that may have been handled by the administration had an SRO not been present. This concern has attracted attention and some studies indicate that the use of the [[Juvenile justice system]] for minor offenses aids in a phenomenon known as the "[[School to prison pipeline]]" (pg. 13).<ref name="Arrest:5" /><ref name="Thesis" /> In contrast, overall juvenile arrests have gone down according to data from the DOJ. If the proliferation of SRO programs in the US is adding to arrests, the data showing this correlation is missing.

The [[Stoneman Douglas High School shooting|February 14, 2018 shooting]] which killed 17 people at [[Stoneman Douglas High School]] brought renewed attention to the topic of police in schools. The police officer assigned to the school resigned shortly after the shooting under criticism of not entering the school building while the student was shooting.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/parkland/florida-school-shooting/fl-florida-shooting-sro-20180222-story.html |title=Stoneman Douglas cop resigns; sheriff says he should have 'killed the killer' |last=Huriash |first=Stephen Hobbs, Scott Travis, Lisa J. |work=Sun-Sentinel |access-date=2018-03-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> Given the frequency with which [[School shooting|school shootings]] occur in the United States, critics of SRO programs are asking if it is necessary to have armed police officers in schools, if they cannot ensure students' safety during crises.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Blad |first1=Evie |title=Impact of School Police: Many Unanswered Questions |journal=Education Week |date=25 January 2017 |url=https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2017/01/25/impact-of-school-police-many-unanswered-questions.html |access-date=26 March 2018}}</ref> The commission report showed that the counselor and SRO both recommended Cruz, the shooter, be [[Baker Act|Baker Acted]] and the mental health service system did not follow through with their recommendation, so Cruz was allowed to purchase guns after turning 18.

The shooter in Maryland's [[Great Mills High School]] attack on March 20, 2018, was neutralized following swift action by the school's resource officer, Blaine Gaskill.<ref name=hassan>{{cite web |last1=Hassan |first1=Carma |last2=Ahmed |first2=Saeed |title=Lone resource officer's quick action stopped the Maryland school shooter within seconds |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/03/20/us/maryland-school-shooting-resource-officer-response-trnd/index.html |publisher=CNN |date=March 21, 2018}}</ref> As CNN put it: "Gaskill's response was hailed as an example of exactly what a resource officer is supposed to do in such a circumstance, particularly when contrasted to the actions of the security officer in last month's shooting in Parkland, Florida."<ref name=hassan/> However in the DOJ's Report on the response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers lost their lives on May 24, 2022, an examination and timeline of the responses by the SRO and law enforcement were determined to be inadequate and ultimately called a failure based on national standards, expectations, and acceptable practices. The comprehensive review consisted of interviews, extensive location study, and collecting and combing through over 14,000 individual data items related to the incident. <ref>{{citeCite web |date=2024-01-18 |title=ImpactOffice of Public Affairs {{!}} Justice Department Releases Report on its Critical Incident Review of the Response to the Mass Shooting at Robb Elementary School Police:in ManyUvalde, UnansweredTexas Questions{{!}} United States Department of Justice |url=https://editionwww.cnnjustice.comgov/2018opa/03pr/20/us/marylandjustice-schooldepartment-shootingreleases-resourcereport-officerits-critical-incident-review-response-trnd/index.htmlmass-shooting-robb |access-date=20192024-06-05 |date=2018-0304-21 |authorwebsite=Carma Hassan and Saeed Ahmed, CNNwww.justice.gov |publisherlanguage=CNNen}}</ref>

<!-- <ref name="IFPO Article URL">{{cite web |url=https://www.ifpo.org/resource-links/articles-and-reports/school-security-training/school-resource-security-officers/ |title=School Resource Security Officers: School Protection Officers for Public Schools |author=McNicholas, C. |year=2013}}</ref> -->

<ref name="Justice URL">{{cite web |url=http://jjie.org/school-resource-officers-topic-of-hot-debate-even-prior-sandy-hook/102868 |title=School Resource Officer: A Topic of Hot Debate, Even Prior to Sandy Hook |author=Swift, JJames|website=Juvenile Justice Information Exchange |date=January 18, 2013}}</ref>

<ref name="Arrest:5">{{citeCite journalweb |authorfirst=Amanda |last=Petteruti |date=November 2011 |website=Justice Policy Institute |title=Education Under Arrest: The Case Against Police in Schools |dateurl=Novemberhttp://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/educationunderarrest_fullreport.pdf 2011|url-status=dead |journalarchive-url=Justicehttps://web.archive.org/web/20111122120245/http://www.justicepolicy.org/uploads/justicepolicy/documents/educationunderarrest_fullreport.pdf Policy|archive-date=November Institute22, 2011}}</ref>

<ref name="Thesis">{{cite journalthesis |authorurl= https://dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.9/2012/FINAL%20Thesis%20Complete.pdf|first=Ryan J. |last=Morimune |title=The School Resource Officer Perspective: Examining Crime, Violence, Law Enforcement, and Education on Public High School Campuses|degree=Master of Arts in Sociology |publisher= California State University, Sacramento|year=2012}}</ref>

<ref name="ACLU">{{cite journalweb |authorurl=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/facbooks/277/ |type=[[White paper]] |publisher=American Civil Liberties Union |first1=Catherine Y. |last1=Kim |first2=India Geronimo |last2=GeronimoThusi |title=Policing in Schools: Developing a Governance Document for School Resource Officers in K–12 Schools |date=August 2009}}</ref>