The Department of Justice (DOJ) provides this report on school resource officers in response to report language in House Report 115-704 that seeks an examination of "the current role of School Resource Offices in schools" and "recommendations on how [School Resource Offices] can better serve the needs of the students."
The Department of Justice (DOJ) provides this report on school resource officers in response to report language in House Report 115-704 that seeks an examination of "the current role of School Resource Offices in schools" and "recommendations on how [School Resource Offices] can better serve the needs of the students."
The Office of Justice Programs (OJP), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), was designated to write this report. On January 10, 2020, the Department provided an interim report on research on school resource officer programs. At the time, NIJ had not yet developed a sufficient evidence base on school resource officer/officers (SRO), or other school safety programs. To provide a more comprehensive response to the questions raised by the House report language, NIJ reviewed research on school policing, including ongoing and recently completed research funded by NIJ, and held discussions with researchers and law enforcement practitioners in school policing. This review was supported by the work of two subject matter experts contracted by NIJ, Joseph McKenna (School Safety Solutions) and Anthony Petrosino (WestEd).