School Resource Officers: More than Just Law Enforcers?

Abstract

Research about school resource officers (SROs) has focussed on their ability to legally intervene and detain or arrest youth. On many campuses, though, their role extends beyond that of law enforcement to include mentorship, counselling, and education. The current study draws on a survey of SROs from the Phoenix, Arizona, Police Department—one of the largest police departments in the United States—to examine what roles SROs prioritize and how they implement their duties. The results show that although one of SROs’ primary roles is that of law enforcer, SROs were more likely to prioritize their role as mentors. SROs also reported that it was school personnel, rather than teachers or the SROs themselves, who most commonly initiated SRO involvement in student misbehaviour, whether in a law enforcement or mentorship capacity. The paper concludes with a discussion about implications for scholarship and practice.