Violent Crimes at School: Does the Number of Security Personnel Matter?

• In Event: Posters I

Abstract

Research indicates that exposure to school crimes threatens students’ attendance and academic performance. Simultaneously, students who are victimized are also likely to develop delinquent behaviors themselves. However, research on the effectiveness of commonly used school security practices demonstrates equivocal evidence, particularly with respect to the employment of police officers and security guards. To explore such equivocality, the current research uses the Survey on School Crime and Safety 2007-2008 data to examine the relationship between the number of security personnel and the frequency of violent crimes. Results indicate that the number of security personnel and the frequency of violent crimes are positively correlated, with the school enrollment size controlled for. Possible interpretations include that more crimes could be detected with more security personnel, that employing more security personnel criminalizes minor delinquencies and leads to more crimes recorded, or that schools with more crimes are likely to hire more security personnel. Nevertheless, it is not possible to draw causal inferences due to the cross-sectional nature of the data. Longitudinal research is suggested to further explore the causal order, and qualitative research is suggested to understand the mechanism behind this positive association.

Author

• Mei Yang, University of Maryland