Research published this week indicates that most parents worry about school shootings and believe that police officers in schools help prevent such violence.
“Every school day, we learn of loaded guns possessed illegally in multiple U.S. schools, so parents’ fears of a school shooting are certainly understandable,” said Mo Canady, executive director, National Association of School Resource Officers.
Canady added that parental faith in the value of school resource officers (law enforcement officers who work in schools) is well placed.
“We know of many examples of carefully selected, specifically trained, fully equipped school resource officers averting school violence. There are also many cases in which SROs reduced the effects of violence that could not be prevented,” Canady continued.
The Pew Research Center found that 65% of parents who have children in K-12 schools are at least somewhat worried about a shooting happening at their children’s schools. The same research indicates that 82% of U.S. parents say having police officers or armed security stationed in schools would be at least somewhat effective at preventing school shootings.
But the value of SRO programs implemented in accordance with national best practices extends well beyond school shooting prevention and mitigation, Canady said. “In communities that follow the best practices that NASRO recommends, SROs bridge gaps between law enforcement and youth, serve as trusted mentors to students and provide valuable information in classrooms as guest lecturers,” Canady said.
In addition, students who are victims of crimes, including child abuse, often confide in their school resource officers before anyone else. And SROs are usually better able to develop essential emergency plans than are educators, Canady added.
“Together, all these benefits should encourage education leaders to place carefully selected, specifically trained school resource officers in every K-12 school,” Canady concluded.