Since the tragic school shooting in Florida, Americans have been discussing solutions for gun-violences. Organizers from the March for Our Lives are asking for Congress to act and pass specific legislation to limit access to guns, where other people are focusing on security in schools as a major issue. This lead me to think about the security precautions that exist here at Tosa East. One of the first ones that came to mind is our School Resource Officers. After some research, I found that the number of School Resource Officers is increasing. And as a result of the ever-increasing number of school shootings, many schools have called for more SROs.
What it seems like people forget is that the role of an SRO goes much deeper than just school security. The role of an SRO is complicated and it isn't for everyone. Our own SRO Officer Morril talked about what it takes to become an SRO.
According to Officer Morril, “In addition to the continuing education and training all officers are required to complete, SROs also receive specialized training including working with people who have mental or cognitive disabilities; Active Shooter Training; Drug Recognition Training; etc.”
According to the National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) officers must attend a rigorous course. “The course is taught on a five day, eight-hour format. Classes begin promptly at 8:00 am each morning and run through 5:00 pm each day. Attendees are required to attend all sessions in order to obtain the National School Resource Officer Basic Course Certificate. There is a written examination, multiple discussions, and at least one graded practical exercise for each student.”
This experience is necessary because of the role that Officers have in a school. SROs are valuable to schools because they provide students an opportunity to come in contact with a trustworthy law officer. Studies have shown that this leads to more trust in the law later in life.
“SROs strive to create a safe, drug-free campus with the understanding that nothing is 100% fool proof! The safer we can keep our schools, though, the better the learning environment. Additionally, SROs get the opportunity to speak in classrooms several times a year. While the information SROs share at guest speaking opportunities is valuable, it is the interactions with the kids that is priceless. I love getting to know the kids and getting the opportunity to show them that police are people too and not ‘just cops,” says, Officer Morrill.
Obviously, this is why it's so important that officers are highly trained. We often talk about “bad cops”, usually in the context of race-based police brutality. There is also a negative side of having more police officers in schools. Studies have shown that the more police officers that are in schools, the more African-American students end up in the criminal justice system.
Having more police officers in schools could lead to distrust in law enforcement if those police officers are racially biased or poorly trained. This is why the training that these officers undergo is so essential, because the impact that SROs have on impressionable youth can be everlasting. If students distrust their SRO then they are more likely to distrust law enforcement in their adulthood. The same goes the other way: if students have a trustworthy relationship with their SRO then they are more likely to trust the police in their adulthood.
So, while discussing whether or not to place police in schools for security, it's important that we consider the great impact that School Resource Officers have in schools. It’s important that we understand the effect that SROs have on students long after they graduate.