The association between police officers in schools and students’ longer term perceptions of police as procedurally just

Research Summary

Much debate exists regarding the use of police inside schools and their impacts on students. Some argue that the use of School Resource Officers (SROs) could foster positive perceptions of police. However, no research exists examining whether SROs affect perceptions of police later in life. Further, research has not evaluated how differing SRO roles impacts lasting perceptions of police. Using a regression analysis on a sample of 328 college students, this study investigated whether there is a relationship between SRO presence during the middle- or high-school years and current perceptions of local law enforcement in terms of procedural justice (neutrality, voice, trust, respect). Additionally, we compared the impacts of various SRO roles including an enforcement only approach, a mixed approach (i.e., law enforcement and an additional activity such as teaching) and a full triad approach (i.e., law enforcement, teaching, and mentoring) on these perceptions. The results reveal differential impacts on perceptions depending on whether the SRO was used in middle versus high school as well as the role typology of the SRO. Though small, there were mostly negative relationships between SRO presence in middle school and lasting perceptions of procedural justice for local police, though the use of a full triad model mitigates this negative effect. In contrast, SRO usage in high school has small yet positive effects on longer term perceptions of police, but only when performing a mixed or full triad approach.

Policy Implications

Policy makers and school administrators should reconsider the use of SROs in middle schools as the exposure to these officers early on is associated with more negative lasting impressions of police. However, the use of SROs in high schools can be beneficial for fostering long-term perceptions of police so long as these officers are engaged in activities beyond pure law enforcement.