NCJ Number
205423
Journal
FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin Volume: 73 Issue: 5 Dated: May 2004 Pages: 22-24
Date Published
May 2004
Length
3 pages
Annotation
This survey in Connecticut examined the roles, responsibilities, and benefits of school resource officers (SRO's) in 10 communities.
Abstract
The author interviewed SRO's and surveyed school superintendents, police supervisors, and school principals. The findings indicate that SRO's help provide a safe environment in the public high schools. Respondents believed that a qualified SRO not only enforces law on school grounds, but also instructs students in matters of law and citizenship and counsels students on behavioral and attitudinal issues that bear on school security and delinquency prevention. The community case studies found that the role of the SRO and support for the SRO did not vary among cities. Seventy-five percent of the respondents believed that SRO's offer the most effective school violence-prevention strategy. The author advises the SRO's should be involved in both in-school and out-of-school suspensions and should work with school administrators to develop alternatives to out-of-school suspensions. The SRO alone, however, cannot provide sufficient security for a school. School staff, students, and students' parents must work together to prevent school violence. The SRO can help facilitate and coordinate such cooperation. SRO's in effect become the primary leaders in rallying the community and its various elements to perform tasks and assume roles that contribute directly and indirectly to school security and a safe environment for students to learn and mature. 8 notes