December 12, 2024 – HOOVER, Ala. – The National Association of School Resource Officers, (NASRO) today applauded new federal guidance aimed at preventing sexual misconduct by school resource officers (SROs). The guidance appears in Guiding Principles for School Resource Officer Programs, a revised version of which the Office of Community-Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) of the US Department of Justice published today.
NASRO recommends that all law enforcement agencies that employ SROs and all schools where SROs are assigned adopt the recommendations included in section 10 of the document, “Prevention of sexual assault and misconduct.”
“Law enforcement agencies and educational institutions that use SROs must do all they can to prevent sexual misconduct by all adults in schools, including SROs,” said NASRO executive director Mo Canady. “The new guidance from the COPS office can play a significant role. We fully support complete implementation of the new guidelines.”
The new COPS Office guidance includes recommendations such as:
- Developing robust policies and procedures to prevent officer perpetrated sexual assault of students.
- Requiring SROs to participate in sexual misconduct awareness training along with other adults in school settings.
- Developing clear policies and procedures regarding interpersonal contacts, with special attention to areas such as:
- Appropriate social media interactions.
- Personal cards, notes, and emails.
- Contact, touching, and hugging.
- Boundaries to use when traveling out of town for sports or other competitions.
- After-school interactions with students.
NASRO continues to recommend, as it has for years, that officers assigned to SRO roles be carefully selected and specifically trained for that assignment. Careful selection includes rejecting officers who have previous disciplinary issues – especially when those issues involved children – and choosing officers who have proven track records of success volunteering in youth activities such as athletics and church youth groups.
“While careful section and specific training of SROs is essential, even the most prudent selection processes are not foolproof,” Canady said. “We wish it was always possible to reliably identify and screen out persons who will commit future abuse. It isn’t, as the experiences of many professions, including education and health care, show. That’s another reason that guidance like that provided by the COPS Office today is so important,” Canady concluded.
About NASRO
The National Association of School Resource Officers 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 where they learn and work. NASRO provides specific training for SROs at locations around the nation, hosts an annual National School Safety Conference and advocates for best practices to help SRO programs accomplish their goals while avoiding unintended consequences. NASRO is headquartered in Hoover, Alabama, and was established in 1991. For more information, visit www.nasro.org.
Media Contact:
Jay Farlow
Jani Spede Marketing
[email protected]
(866) 923-9980 ext. 2