June 1, 2022 — Hoover, Ala. — The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) issued a statement regarding best practices in the wake of last week’s tragedy in Uvalde, Texas. The following statement may be attributed to NASRO executive director Mo Canady.
We, along with the rest of the country, have watched in horror as reports emerged from Uvalde, Texas.
It will be difficult to move forward from this terrible incident. We want to offer our expertise, however, to help our nation learn from it and prevent similar violence in the future. Based on decades of work training thousands of school resource officers (SROs) nationwide and developing a set of best practices, we offer the following recommendations and information.
Importance of SROs
Carefully selected, specifically trained SROs (sworn law enforcement officers assigned to schools) can and have prevented and mitigated school violence. This includes intervening before violence begins and stopping it quickly when prevention was impossible. Every school at every level must therefore have a carefully selected, specifically trained SRO on its campus whenever school is in session. Incidents at Dixon High School, Dixon, Illinois (2018); Great Mills High School, St. Mary’s County, Maryland (2018); and more recently, Olathe East High School, Olathe, Kansas (2022), among many others, demonstrate the value and effectiveness of SROs.
Perimeter Security
We recommend that schools keep interior classroom doors locked while classes are in session. The safety benefit of doing so outweighs, in our opinion, the inconvenience. In addition, all exterior doors must always be locked to the outside, so that any visitor must enter through a single doorway, ideally with a remotely operated security vestibule. Regular maintenance must assure the proper operation of all doors. Administrators must assure that all security policies and procedures are always strictly followed.
Threat Assessment
Although the assailant who attacked Robb Elementary School was not directly associated with that school at the time of the attack, it is unfortunately true that school violence often originates from within. Every school must therefore be familiar with warning signs identified in a 2021 U.S. Secret Service report and have a team that can immediately assess potential assailants within the student body. Such teams should include mental health professionals and others who can help assure that such students receive needed supports. Communities should implement similar capabilities to assess threats from people outside of student populations.
Bystander Reporting
Similarly, every school must implement a safe and anonymous way for people to report disconcerting behavior and impress upon their communities the importance of reporting anything they see or hear – in person or on social media – that indicates a potential threat. SROs who build positive relationships with students and other members of the school community facilitate such reports. The previously mentioned U.S. Secret Service report supports the importance of such reporting where it reads, “…students are best positioned to identify and report concerning behaviors displayed by their classmates.”
Resources
We routinely collaborate with another nonprofit organization, Safe and Sound Schools, which has assembled a library of resources regarding recovery, trauma-informed schools, violence prevention, and active assailants. Of particular value at this time is its web page, “After A Tragedy: Supporting Schools and Communities.”
Listed below are some additional resources we believe will be helpful to communities.
Our hearts remain with the Uvalde community as its members recover from last week’s tragedy.
- Resources for Helping Youth Cope after a Mass Shooting (Federal Youth.gov web page).
- Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers (National Association of School Psychologists web page).
- Recovery From Large-Scale Crises: Guidelines for Crisis Teams and Administrators (National Association of School Psychologists web page).
- Trauma-Informed Schools (Safe and Sound Schools web page).
- School Resource Officers: Averted School Violence Special Report (Report published by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Community Oriented Policing Services).
About NASRO
NASRO is a nonprofit organization for school-based law enforcement officers, school administrators, and school security and safety professionals working as partners to protect students, school faculty and staff, and the schools they attend. NASRO is headquartered in Hoover, Alabama, and it was established in 1991. For more information, visit www.nasro.org.
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