‘Bridging the gap’: school resource officers as bridge builders in the community policing era

ABSTRACT

Since their origination in the 1950s, school resource officers (SROs) have become increasingly commonplace in schools throughout the United States. In turn, researchers have developed a considerable base of empirical work on SRO roles and how these roles motivate action in public schools. A large part of this empirical work has focused on roles that fall outside conventional law enforcement duties such as when officers act as mentors, counselors, and educators. However, this line of research has not yet investigated the motivations for why SROs engage in non-law enforcement roles. The purpose of the current study is to draw from 26 interviews with SROs to explore the motivations for engaging in non-law enforcement roles and activities in public schools. Findings illustrate that SROs identify the overarching motivation of non-law enforcement as ‘bridging the gap,’ where they seek out at-risk students and connect them to necessary resources in the school and community. We find that SROs engage in building four types of bridges. The findings also suggest that SROs draw from a community-oriented policing framework to explain this motivation.

KEYWORDS:

• SRO
• police roles
• schools
• community policing

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project was supported by Award No. 2016-CK-BX-0017, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this manuscript are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice;

Notes on contributors

Ethan M. Higgins

Ethan M. Higgins is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. His research interests are varied, but all center on theoretical integration, advancement and emerging ideas. Research efforts typically use qualitative methods to explore criminal justice personnel, criminal justice research practices, narratives of crime and justice, as well as school violence and response. His work has recently been published in Justice Quarterly, Deviant Behavior, and Critical Criminology.

Suzanne Overstreet

Suzanne Overstreet, is a doctoral student at the University of Louisville. Her research focuses on victimology, juvenile justice, and school resource officers. More specifically, she is interested in whether race influences disciplinary infractions by SROs; and what characteristics differentiate between lethal and non-lethal intimate partner violence. She is a research assistant on a Disproportionate Minority Contact grant. Her more recent publication can be found in Violence and Victims.

Brandon Coffey

Brandon Coffey is a doctoral student in the department of Criminal Justice at the University of Louisville. His research focuses on the relationship between school security and various student outcomes, such as academic achievement, crime and misconduct, and school climate. He is currently working as a graduate research assistant on a federally funded grant through the National Institute of Justice focusing on the effects of implementing school resource officers on school climate and suspension rates.

Ben W. Fisher

Ben W. Fisher is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at the University of Louisville. He studies school safety, security, and discipline through an equity lens.