But I am Here to Help: How School Climate Factors and Interactions Define School Resource Officer Roles

• Other Authors: Herbert, Jessica L. (Author)
• Format: Doctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: Criminology; Education policy; Social research; risk factors; role conflict; school climate; school resource officer; school safety; school violence
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2286/R.I.54973

abstract: The presence of police officers is not an assurance of safety for everyone. Yet, modern concerns for school safety suggest there is a need for more police officers in schools. Over the last 70 years of School Resource Officer (SRO) programs, the variations of SRO program implementation and the expectation of roles and responsibilities has produced conflicting research on benefits or harms of police in the school environment. The purpose of police in schools has shuffled from relationship-building ambassadors for the community, to educators on crime prevention and drug use, to law enforcement officers for punitive juvenile sanctions, to counselors and role models for legal socialization, and other roles for emergency management and crisis response. Plans to place more officers in schools for purposes of “school safety” requires an examination of the SROs’ roles within the school, their interactions with students, and how these roles and interactions contribute to safety. This study explores the roles of SROs to understand the variations of roles within a program and understand factors influencing the roles of SROs (e.g., school climate, initiation by others). To evaluate these roles and potential influences, cluster analysis and multinomial regression models were developed from one year of SRO-student interaction data (n=12, 466) collected daily from the Richland County (SC) Sheriff’s Department SRO Division located in South Carolina. These interactions were defined by the framework of counseling, educating, and law enforcing roles. Results indicate the variations of roles performed are largely influenced by the school type (e.g., elementary), SRO perceptions (e.g., counselor), and the engagement of SROs by school officials for specific roles. === Dissertation/Thesis === Doctoral Dissertation Criminology and Criminal Justice 2019