Safety and Security

School Resource Officers Don't Improve Safety, Study Finds

Nov 13, 2018, 12:52 PM

(from the Brookings Institution) Increased frequencies of interactions between students and school resource officers are not related to feelings of safety at school, research shows. Student experiences at school are better predictors of a feeling of safety. Males, students who have strong connectedness with schools and students who had positive attitudes towards SROs reported feeling safer in schools. However, females, African-American students and students who have experienced various forms of school violence, such as fights, arguments, bullying or religious teasing, reported feeling less safe in schools, even though SROs were present.

There is evidence that SROs can build good relationships with students. For example, positive student outcomes were achieved when North Carolina SROs went above the call of duty to coach a middle school basketball team when no one else was available. Contrarily, there are also countless viral videos from around the country of SROs physically abusing youth for minor incidents, some of which have led to lawsuits and now permeate the minds of young adolescents.