The Problem ▸
The threat of violence and other crimes in schools is a serious concern. School Resource Officer (SRO) programs have been developed to address this issue by providing safety and crime prevention in the school setting. Many also believe that law enforcement presence in schools can lead to more positive relationships between police and youth in the community. However, others regard the growing presence of officers in schools as leading to more exclusionary discipline and criminal justice involvement. These actions contribute to outcomes with greater racial disparities and what is termed a “school-to-prison pipeline” that disproportionately impacts youth of color.[1]
Report Sections ▸
About 40% of municipal law enforcement agencies have at least one full-time school resource officer. A 2019 study showed that about 2.5% of all municipal law enforcement officers were assigned SRO positions.[2] The U.S. Department of Education suggests that the risk of victimization for students aged 12–18 has decreased over the last decade. During the 2019–2020 school year, 77% of public schools documented one or more incidents of violence, theft, and other crime; 47% reported one or more of these incidents to the police. These numbers represent a reduction from 2009–2010. The number of shootings at public and private elementary and secondary schools increased from 11 in 2000–2001 to 93 in 2020–2021, representing a large increase; still, these incidents are considered rare[3] though it is acknowledged that the statistically infrequent nature of the events should not be interpreted to infer that they are any less of a priority to prevent.
Research to date has failed to find strong evidence that SROs improve school safety. One study found that SROs were associated with reduced crime and increased arrests for property and violence offenses on the grounds of middle schools, and increased drug arrests for high school youth outside of school grounds.[4] However, a recently conducted comprehensive review of the research concluded: “An examination of systematic reviews and quasi-experiments of school policing, along with expert panel opinions, reveals that the research to date does not support school policing as an effective strategy in increasing safety and security.”[5] Other research has found limited[6] or no effect[7] [8] of SROs on levels of crime. There is also insufficient evidence to conclude whether SROs in schools deter mass shooting events.[9]
A dozen studies, using various measurement and evaluation strategies, have explored how SROs affect student perceptions of safety. No consistent evidence has linked SROs to improved student perceptions of school safety.[10]
Numerous studies have explored how students perceive police in their communities and their schools. In general, most research suggests that SROs do not improve perceptions of police, in general, although SROs are viewed more favorably than community police officers. Compared to their White peers, Black students held fewer positive perceptions of the police in both settings.[11] More than 60% of Black students in the Los Angeles Unified School District did not believe that school police were trustworthy.[12] Black students, compared to their White peers, have less positive perceptions of police both in the community and in schools.[13] Similarly, at least one study suggests that SROs view the source of threats to school safety differently if they are assigned to a White-majority school district versus a Black-majority district.[14]
Nationwide, 43% of elementary and 63% of secondary school administrators in schools with SROs reported that their SROs were involved in maintaining school discipline.[15] This involvement takes various forms and appears to be affected by school context, existing disciplinary practices, and student body demographics.[16] A meta-analysis[17] found that the presence of SROs in high schools was associated with higher rates of exclusionary discipline (such as suspension or expulsion).[18] [19] However, they were unable to distinguish the impact of SROs from that of other measures utilized by the school at the same time. A subset of more rigorous studies shows that the rate of exclusionary discipline was not significantly different from the rate in schools without SROs. Another review of the evidence was inconclusive (due to limitations of the review) regarding the effectiveness of school policing programs.[20]
Research suggests that these students were disproportionately disciplined (e.g., suspension and expulsion) in K–12 public schools.[21] These disparities were widespread and persisted regardless of the type of disciplinary action, level of school poverty, or type of public school.[22] Research also shows a consistent positive association between suspensions and dropouts and involvement in criminal behaviors later in life.[23] This affected Black students more than White students.
Recent research suggests that weighing the costs (both financial and social) and benefits of SROs should remain an ongoing public policy debate. One study found that SROs were associated with reduced crime but also increased arrests for property and violence offenses (on middle school grounds) and drug arrests (among high school youth off school grounds).[24] SROs have also been associated with increased student involvement in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. For example, SROs in middle schools increased disciplinary actions by 6%, driven by sanctions for low-level offenses or school code of conduct violations and the largest increase in discipline.[25] Further, after receiving a three-year federal grant for school police, schools in Texas saw a 2.5% decrease in high school graduation rates and a 4% decrease in college enrollment rates.[26]
Schools are adopting alternatives to exclusionary disciplines, such as initiatives that promote positive behavioral expectations for students.[27] A few studies suggest that school-based restorative justice programs demonstrate promising impacts, including reductions in disparities in suspensions and other disciplines, increased PSAT scores, and improvements in teacher perception of school climate.[28] [29] [30] [31] Program impacts, however, suggest room for further study and development. One large study found that implementing restorative justice practices did not improve academic performance for some grade levels and did not reduce arrest rates.[32] A meta-analysis of school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs found a positive effect on academic performance of having SROs in the schools, but this finding has not received further support from other, higher-quality randomized studies.[33] [34]
Articulate the Role of School-Based Officers
The role of school-based officers should be clearly defined and limited to addressing serious crimes and threats involving students or the school itself. Officer involvement in non-criminal or public safety emergency matters on school grounds should be avoided, as they are best handled outside of the juvenile and criminal justice systems.
Research and Minimize the Potential for Negative Impact of School-Based Law Enforcement
Additional research is needed to develop strategies that mitigate the potential negative impacts of school-based law enforcement officers on academic achievement, discipline, violence prevention, crime reduction, and police-youth relations. Placement of officers in schools below the high school level should be based on evidence of criminal threats involving the school and should be reviewed annually to determine how SROs contribute to school safety without negative impacts on educational achievement and to the potential for students to enter the school-to-prison pipeline.
Develop, Implement, and Evaluate Alternatives to School-Based Law Enforcement
Communities should explore, implement, and evaluate discipline and safety alternatives to using sworn law enforcement officers in schools, absent a clear, compelling, and continuing reason to do so. Experimentation is encouraged with alternatives that do not contribute to the school-to-prison pipeline, such as restorative justice and social and behavioral approaches, including prevention of substance use and bullying. All such approaches should be evaluated for their impact on outcomes, including academic achievement, safety, and racially disparate outcomes.
Further Research ▸
Rigorous studies are needed to better determine the impact of SROs. Further research should examine: 1) various school- and student-level outcomes, including discipline, victimization, criminal justice involvement, racial and other disparities, and student achievement, particularly in the long term, and 2) the roles of SROs and their specific activities and how that affects these outcomes. Agencies should work collaboratively with community and school stakeholders to develop strategies that capitalize on the crime reduction benefits of SROs while minimizing collateral consequences.
Given that crime and serious crime are not evenly distributed across schools, studies should determine the effect of SROs in schools with higher baseline crime problems.
Further studies are needed to understand the cost and benefits of alternative programs that focus on positive disciplinary practices.
Citations ▸
[1] Justice Policy Institute. (2011). Education under arrest: The case against police in schools. Washington, DC: Author.
[2] Hyland, S., & Davis, E. (2019). Local Police Departments 2016: Personnel. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
[3] Irwin, V., Wang, K., Cui, J., & Thompson, A. (2022). Report on Indicators of School Crime and Safety, 2021. National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, and Bureau of Justice Statistics, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/iscs21.pdf
[4] Owens, E. G. (2017). Testing the school‐to‐prison pipeline. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36(1), 11-37.
[5] McKenna, J., & Petrosino, A. (2022). School Policing Programs: Where We Have Been and Where We Need to Go Next. National Institute of Justice.
[6] Gonzalez, J., Jetelina, K., & Jennings, W. 2016. Structural school safety measures, SROs, and school-related delinquent behavior and perceptions of safety: A state-of-the-art review. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies & Management, 39(3), 438-454.
[7] Barnes, L. M. 2008. Policing the schools: An evaluation of the North Carolina School Resource Officer Program. Doctoral dissertation, Rutgers.
[8] Sullivan, W. J. 2013. Kentucky SRO programs: An examination of impact on reported criminal violations and board violations. Online theses and dissertations. 139.
[9] James, N., & McCallion, G. (2013). School resource officers: Law enforcement officers in schools. Washington, DC: Library of Congress, Congressional Research Service.
[10] McKenna, J., & Petrosino, A. (2022). School Policing Programs: Where We Have Been and Where We Need to Go Next. National Institute of Justice.
[11] Nakamoto, J., Cerna, R., & Stern, A. 2019. High school students’ perceptions of police vary by student race and ethnicity: Findings from an analysis of the California Healthy Kids Survey, 2017/18. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
[12] Sparks, S. 2020. “Do school police make Black students feel more or less safe?”
[13] Nakamoto, J., Cerna, R., & Stern, A. 2019. High school students’ perceptions of police vary by student race and ethnicity: Findings from an analysis of the California Healthy Kids Survey, 2017/18. San Francisco, CA: WestEd.
[14] McKenna, J., & Petrosino, A. (2022). School Policing Programs: Where We Have Been and Where We Need to Go Next. National Institute of Justice.
[15] Musu-Gillette, L., Zhang, A., Wang, K., Zhang, J., Kemp, J., Diliberti, M., & Oudekerk, B. A. (2018). Indicators of school crime and safety: 2017. U.S. Department of Education. https://bjs.ojp.gov/sites/g/files/xyckuh236/files/media/document/iscs17.pdf?ed2f26df2d9c416fbddddd2330a778c6=cbobieglen-cbbigine
[16] Curran, F. C., Fisher, B. W., Viano, S., & Kupchik, A. (2019). Why and when do school resource officers engage in school discipline? The role of context in shaping disciplinary involvement. American Journal of Education, 126(1), 33-63.
[17] Fisher, B. W., & Hennessy, E. A. (2016). School resource officers and exclusionary discipline in US high schools: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Adolescent Research Review, 1(3), 217-233.
[18] U.S. Department of Education. (2021). An overview of exclusionary discipline practices in public schools for the 2017-18 school year.
[19] Finn, J. D., & Servoss, T. J. (2014). Misbehavior, suspensions, and security measures in high school: Racial/ethnic and gender differences. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk, 5(2), 11.
[20] Petrosino, A., Guckenburg, S., & Fronius, T. (2011). Policing schools’ strategies: A systematic search for experimental and quasi-experimental studies. National Police Improvement Agency, United Kingdom and George Mason Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy, Woburn, MA: Learning Innovations at WestEd.
[21] Fisher, B. W., & Hennessy, E. A. (2016). School resource officers and exclusionary discipline: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Adolescent Research Review, 1, 217–233. doi: 10.1007/s40894-015-0006-8
[22] Nowicki, J. M. (2018). K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-18-258. US Government Accountability Office.
[23] Cuellar, A. E., & Markowitz, S. (2015). School suspension and the school-to-prison pipeline. International Review of Law and Economics, 43, 98-106.
[24] Owens, E. G. (2017). Testing the school‐to‐prison pipeline. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 36(1), 11-37.
[25] Weisburst, E. K. (2019). Patrolling public schools: The impact of funding for school police on student discipline and long‐term education outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 38(2), 338-365.
[26] Weisburst, E. K. (2019). Patrolling Public Schools: The Impact of Funding for School Police on Student Discipline and Long-term Education Outcomes. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 38(2), 338-365. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/pam.22116
[27] Nowicki, J. M. (2018). K-12 Education: Discipline Disparities for Black Students, Boys, and Students with Disabilities. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-18-258. US Government Accountability Office.
[28] Augustine, C. H., Engberg, J., Grimm, G. E., Lee, E., Wang, E. L., Christianson, K., & Joseph, A. A. (2018). Can restorative practices improve school climate and curb suspensions. An evaluation of the impact of restorative practices in a mid-sized urban school district. Rand.
[29] Fronius, T., Darling-Hammond, S., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Hurley, N., & Petrosino, A. (2019). Restorative Justice in US Schools: An Updated Research Review. WestEd.
[30] Hashim, A. K., Strunk, K. O., & Dhaliwal, T. K. (2018). Justice for all? Suspension bans and restorative justice programs in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Peabody Journal of Education, 93(2), 174-189.
[31] Jain, S., Bassey, H., Brown, M. A., & Kalra, P. (2014). Restorative justice in Oakland schools: Implementation and impacts (Prepared for The Office of Civil Rights, US Department of Education). Oakland Unified School District, Data In Action, Oakland, CA.
[32] Augustine, C. H., Engberg, J., Grimm, G. E., Lee, E., Wang, E. L., Christianson, K., & Joseph, A. A. (2018). Can restorative practices improve school climate and curb suspensions. An evaluation of the impact of restorative practices in a mid-sized urban school district. Rand.
[33] Corcoran, R. P., Cheung, A. C., Kim, E., & Xie, C. (2018). Effective universal school-based social and emotional learning programs for improving academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis of 50 years of research. Educational Research Review, 25, 56-72.
[34] Cho, V., Mansfield, K. C., & Claughton, J. (2020). The past and future technology in classroom management and school discipline: A systematic review. Teaching and Teacher Education, 90, 103037.