Law Enforcement Personnel and Policing in Texas

• In Event: Crime, Law and Deviance Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 4: Criminal Justice System Actors (2)

Abstract

The presence of sworn law enforcement officers in schools, typically under the School Resource Officer (SRO) model, arose from national increases in school violence but has been critiqued for unintended consequences such as the criminalization of student behavior. Despite their intended "triad model" (law enforcement, education, counseling), research suggests SROs often prioritize a "safety logic" that can erode student trust. This study addresses a critical gap in the literature by focusing on the experiences of school-based law enforcement officers in Texas, particularly following the tragic May 2022 Uvalde school shooting. The event and subsequent failure of law enforcement response led to widespread public scrutiny, resulting in the Texas Legislature passing House Bill 3 (HB 3) in 2023. This bill mandates that every school campus have at least one-armed security officers, significantly increasing the presence, responsibility, and operational scrutiny of school police. Using in-depth, semi-structured interviews with approximately 30 school-based law enforcement officers across diverse regions of Texas, this qualitative study examines how officers professionally navigate the institutional demands, policy shifts, and public scrutiny sharing their roles. By exploring officers's interpretations of their responsibilities in the post-Uvalde environment, this study seeks to deepen the understanding of how school-based law enforcement personnel perceive and practice security measures, analyzing the operational challenges and implementation of heightened safety concerns.

Author

• Alyssah Nicole Gonzalez, University of Texas-Austin