Beyond Police Presence:The Multidimensional Roles of Police Officers in Schools and Their Impact on Violent Offending

• In Event: Individual and School Characteristics Associated with School Crime and Deviance

Abstract

The literature is unclear as to whether school-based police officers promote or reduce students’ violent and criminal behavior. Moreover, little is known about how officers’ roles, e.g. those serving in law enforcement versus a student engagement role, are associated with such outcomes. In this study, we use data from the 2017-2018 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) to examine whether officers’ presence and roles are associated with violent offending using a nationally representative sample of 2762 public schools throughout the United States. Our results suggest that police presence is positively associated with school violence, but it depends on the officers’ roles. School violence is higher when officers are used primarily for law-enforcement, yet lower when officers are used to educate, counsel, and mentor students.

Authors

• Kerrie Ann Hull, University of Texas at Dallas

• Andrew T. Krajewski, University of Texas at Dallas