The Characteristics and Activities of School Resource Officers: Are Newbies Different than Veterans?

Abstract

As the perception that school violence is increasing persists, school districts have invested in school resource officer (SRO) programs to protect students and teachers in schools. To date, little is known about SROs; thus, using data from a single state (n = 149), this study examined the characteristics and functions of newbies (i.e., officers with less than 2.5 years of service) and veterans (i.e., officers with more than 2.5 years of service). The results showed that newbie SROs had statistically different characteristics than veterans, but the functions were performed similarly between newbies and veterans.

KEYWORDS:

• School resource officer
• school police officer
• schools

Notes

*p ≤ .05.

1. To determine the cutoff point for seniority in the newbie/veteran classification, we consulted with several police officers who are not SROs. The consensus of the officers was that the cutoff point should be 2.5 years. The officers reasoned that this time period would allow the officers to learn the intricacies of the SRO position.