The role of police in public schools: a comparison of principal and police reports of activities in schools

Abstract

This paper describes results from a recent study about the role of law enforcement in schools. Using data from a national mail survey of principals and law enforcement administrators, we compare reports of the types of activities in which police are involved. We found agreement that law-enforcement related activities were the most common type of police involvement in schools, but police also report higher levels of overall participation in schools. We conclude with a discussion of possible explanations for these different perceptions and suggestions for future research to better understand the role of law enforcement in school safety.

Keywords:

• school safety
• police role
• School Resource Officer
• law enforcement
• school crime
• school security

Notes

This research was supported by the National Institute of Justice award number 2001-IJ-CX-0011. Findings and conclusions of the research reported here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the US Department of Justice.