Impact of School Resource Officers and their Training

• In Event: Growing the Toolbox: Evaluating Varied School Safety Approaches

Abstract

NIJ’s early investments in studying the effect of school policing programs were synthesized in a Congressional report. For this task, NIJ engaged two consultants, Drs. Joe McKenna and Anthony Petrosino, to conduct a comprehensive literature review, examine data sources, facilitate four days of expert panel discussions, and synthesize the data collection results. Results were mixed but showed negative results for school police. Since this time, NIJ has continued to engage with the research and practitioner communities to better understand the complexities of this relationship – police make some students feel safer but cause feelings of unease and even trauma in others. School resource officers (SROs) are not one monolithic unit. They differ in myriad ways and how they were selected and trained matters. The roles specified in the agreement between school and police departments make a difference. This presentation reports on two NIJ-funded studies on SROs, one recently completed and one with preliminary findings. One focuses on student outcomes when SROs are or are not removed from their schools, and the other specifically examines the quality and perceived impact of SRO training led by the largest national training provider for school police.

Authors

• Trevor Fronius, WestEd Justice and Prevention Research Center

• Ashley Boal, WestEd