On the Association Between SROs, Private Security Guards, Use-of-Force Capabilities, and Violent Crime in Schools

Abstract

Although school crime and the use of security measures to combat school crime has been the focus of a number of prior empirical studies, there is substantially less information known about the relationship between school resource officers (SROs) and private security guards in schools and school crime. Using data from the 2006 School Survey on Crime and Safety, this study investigates the relationships among school characteristics and school crime with a particular focus on their differential effects across schools that utilize varying types of security personnel (e.g., no security, SROs only, or private security guards only) and use-of-force capabilities (e.g., oleoresin-capsicum spray/pepper spray, Tasers, and firearms). Results from a series of negative binomial regression models indicate that there is a considerable degree of variability in the effect of school characteristics on school crime across schools that utilize SROs only versus private security guards only. Additional results suggest that mid-level force capabilities are positively associated with school crime. Study limitations and implications are also discussed.