Perspectives of Law Enforcement and Principals in Effectiveness of School Resource Officers and Armed Staff
2017-05
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Perspectives of Law Enforcement and Principals in Effectiveness of School Resource Officers and Armed Staff
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2017-05
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The purpose of this study was to compare the perspectives of public school
officials (principals) and law enforcement officials (chiefs and commanders) in regards
to the effectiveness of armed school resource officers (SROs) and armed school staff
members on overall school safety and the ability to counter active shooter situations. It
replicated a 2015 study by Chrursiel, Wolf, Hanson, Rojek, and Kaminski. This study
was descriptive non-experimental with convenience sampling. It used data collected
from a survey that was distributed to over 1,500 Minnesota public school principals and
300 law enforcement officials.
The participants were asked about their beliefs concerning the effectiveness of
SROs and armed school employees. Both principals and law enforcement officials
strongly felt that utilizing a full-time SRO was an effective means to increase school
safety and combat the threat of a school shooting. Both groups felt that arming
principals and teachers would not be an effective measure. This study revealed that
both groups were quite willing to share the finical burden that comes with funding a
school resource officer. It also uncovered that those participants who already have a
fulltime SRO were more likely to have favorable beliefs toward their effectiveness. The
implications of this phenomenon could have profound effects on future public school
security policy.
School shootings at Columbine High School, Sandy Hook Elementary, and
many others like them have sparked a frenzy of activity by the media and policy makers
at all levels. This study has given a voice to those on the frontline of this issue--public
school principals and law enforcement officials. There has been little empirical research examining the beliefs of key stake-holders who are asked to carry out adopted policies. It contributes to the significant gap in literature concerning their perspectives.
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Capstone Project Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for The Master of Education Degree in the College of Education and Human Service Professions By Dennis H. Gauthier, University of Minnesota Duluth, May 2017.1 computer file (PDF); vii, 55 pages, appendices A-D, tables. This item has been modified from the original to redact the signatures present.
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University of Minnesota, Duluth. College of Education and Human Service Professions.
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Gauthier, Dennis H. (2017). Perspectives of Law Enforcement and Principals in Effectiveness of School Resource Officers and Armed Staff. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/192837.
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