Abstract
School resource officers (SROs) are increasingly common in schools across the United States. The roles they occupy within schools are varied, potentially conflicting, and controversial. We examined SROs’ (N = 287) perceptions of their role(s) within their assigned schools. Results revealed a discrepancy between how SROs view their role and how they believe students and school administrators view their role. While SROs characterized their role as multifaceted, they perceived that others viewed their role more narrowly. That many SROs believe their role is misunderstood may be a challenge for composite models of school policing.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Mo Canady and the National Association of School Resource Officers for their assistance with participant recruitment. We also thank Dr. Naomi Goldstein and Michael Hinderyckx for their assistance in completing this research.
Funding
This research was supported by an Ontario Tech University Internal Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) Small Grant (SSHRC Institutional Grant Program). This research was also supported by a Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship awarded to the first author (# 752–2019-1596).
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Snow, M.D., Garver, R. & Malloy, L.C. Discrepancies in the Perceived Role(s) of School Resource Officers. J Police Crim Psych (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-024-09650-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11896-024-09650-5