This study explores the role of school resource officers (SROs) and found tensions between SROs and positive youth development.
The current study explored the experiences and activities of school resource officers (SROs) in an urban school district and found underlying tensions between SROs and positive youth development in an era where SRO presence in schools is highly debated. Twenty-eight SROs completed a survey assessing their roles in schools and a focus group explored how the SROs build relationships with students and the types of student concerns they help resolve. Themes from the focus group included the SROs’ attempts to navigate change in policies and procedures in the school system; the community contexts of the school system and its impact on SRO duties; and role ambiguity, including differences in how SROs perceived their roles within schools compared to how others saw them. (Published Abstract Provided)