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Do Interactions With School Resource Officers Predict Students' Likelihood of Being Disciplined and Feelings of Safety? Mixed-Methods Evidence From Two School Districts

NCJ Number
304074
Journal
Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis Volume: 43 Issue: 2 Dated: 2021 Pages: 200-232
Author(s)
F. C. Curran; et al
Date Published
2021
Length
33 pages
Annotation

Since school resource officers (SROs) are common in schools, yet consequences of their presence are poorly understood, the current study leveraged mixed-methods data from student surveys and group interviews across 25 schools to examine how the frequency of interactions and trust/comfort between students and SROs related to disciplinary outcomes and feelings of safety.

Abstract

The study did not find any evidence that, in this context, more frequent interactions or differing trust/comfort with SROs increased disciplinary consequences, perhaps because, as students report, SROs tended to not engage in formal discipline. The study found that, although SROs were viewed as increasing safety at school, interactions with SROs may have heightened students’ sense of danger, potentially mitigating any benefit to students’ overall feelings of safety. Implications for use of SROs are discussed. (publisher abstract modified)