{ "id": "R43126", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "number": "R43126", "active": true, "source": "EveryCRSReport.com, University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "versions": [ { "source": "EveryCRSReport.com", "id": 448525, "date": "2014-02-06", "retrieved": "2016-04-06T20:40:46.770406", "title": "School Resource Officers: Law Enforcement Officers in Schools", "summary": "Some policymakers have expressed renewed interest in school resource officers (SROs) as a result of the December 2012 mass shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. SROs are sworn law enforcement officers who are assigned to work in schools. \nFor FY2014, the Administration requested $150 million in funding for a Comprehensive Schools Safety Program under the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program. Congress appropriated $75 million for a Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. Congress required the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to collaborate with key partners from law enforcement, mental health, and education disciplines to develop and publish a comprehensive strategy and model for school safety. Within the amount provided, $50 million is for pilot programs to improve school safety consistent with the school safety model published by the NIJ. The remaining $25 million is for research and evaluation into potential root causes of school violence.\nData from the Bureau of Justice Statistics show that the number of full-time law enforcement officers employed by local police departments or sheriff\u2019s offices who were assigned to work as SROs increased between 1997 and 2003 before decreasing slightly in 2007 (the most recent year for which data are available). Data show that a greater proportion of high schools, schools in cities, and schools with enrollments of 1,000 or more report having SROs.\nTwo federal grant programs promoted SRO programs: the COPS in Schools (CIS) program, which was funded until FY2005, and State Formula Grants under the Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Act (SDFSCA), which was funded until FY2009. The CIS program provided grants for hiring new, additional school resource officers to conduct community policing services in and around primary and secondary schools. Local educational agencies could use funds they received under the SDFSCA State Formula Grant program for, among other things, hiring and training school security personnel. \nThe body of research on the effectiveness of SRO programs is limited, both in terms of the number of studies published and the methodological rigor of the studies conducted. The research that is available draws conflicting conclusions about whether SRO programs are effective at reducing school violence. Also, the research does not address whether SRO programs deter school shootings, one of the key reasons for renewed congressional interest in these programs.\nThere are several questions Congress might consider in the context of grant funding specifically for SRO programs. \nDoes the current level of school violence warrant congressional efforts to expand the number of SROs in schools across the country? Data suggest that schools are, generally speaking, safe places for children. During the 2010-2011 school year there were 11 reported homicides of children at school. The number of youth homicides that occurred at school remained less than 2% of the total number of homicides of school aged children for each school year going back to the 1992-1993 school year. In 2010, fewer children reported being the victim of a serious violent crime or a simple assault while at school compared to 1994. However, data also show that some schools\u2014namely middle schools, city schools, and schools with a higher proportion of low-income students\u2014have higher rates of reported violent incidents, and schools with a higher proportion of low-income students had higher rates of reported serious violent incidents.\nIs funding for a wide-scale expansion of SRO programs financially sustainable? If Congress expanded the number of SROs through additional federal funding, it is likely that many of those officers would go to law enforcement agencies serving jurisdictions of fewer than 25,000 people (data show that nearly 88% of police departments and almost half of sheriff\u2019s offices serve jurisdictions of fewer than 25,000 people). Traditionally, COPS grants have provided \u201cseed\u201d money for local law enforcement agencies to hire new officers, but it is the responsibility of the recipient agency to retain the officer(s) after the grant expires. Since smaller law enforcement agencies tend to have smaller operating budgets and smaller sworn forces, retaining even one or two additional officers after a grant expired might pose a significant financial burden.\nWould additional SROs result in more children being placed in the criminal justice system? Research in this area is limited to a small number of studies, but these suggest that children in schools with SROs might be more likely to be arrested for low-level offenses. On the other hand, some studies indicate that SROs can deter students from committing assaults on campus as well as bringing weapons to school. Schools with SROs may also be more likely to report non-serious violent crimes (i.e., physical attack or fights without a weapon and threat of physical attack without a weapon) to the police than schools lacking SROs.", "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORTS", "active": true, "formats": [ { "format": "HTML", "encoding": "utf-8", "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/R43126", "sha1": "664e8b9286f9edac55397fc6c5fd210e2ac6edd8", "filename": "files/20140206_R43126_664e8b9286f9edac55397fc6c5fd210e2ac6edd8.html", "images": null }, { "format": "PDF", "encoding": null, "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/R43126", "sha1": "734b661c87fd809fc58d5d5c9346e69bdeef626c", "filename": "files/20140206_R43126_734b661c87fd809fc58d5d5c9346e69bdeef626c.pdf", "images": null } ], "topics": [ { "source": "IBCList", "id": 2487, "name": "Elementary and Secondary Education" } ] }, { "source": "University of North Texas Libraries Government Documents Department", "sourceLink": "https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc815795/", "id": "R43126_2013Jun26", "date": "2013-06-26", "retrieved": "2016-03-19T13:57:26", "title": "School Resource Officers: Law Enforcement Officers in Schools", "summary": null, "type": "CRS Report", "typeId": "REPORT", "active": false, "formats": [ { "format": "PDF", "filename": "files/20130626_R43126_716a20191f13cf90064e9929ef6ee59611a90576.pdf" }, { "format": "HTML", "filename": "files/20130626_R43126_716a20191f13cf90064e9929ef6ee59611a90576.html" } ], "topics": [] } ], "topics": [ "Crime Policy", "Domestic Social Policy", "Education Policy", "Health Policy" ] }