[Author’s Name]
[Institution’s Name]
Essay on School Resource Officers
In today's modern education system, the supposed threat of Columbine-esque school violence has lead to the institution of many new security measures. Physical security measures are among some of the most widely used including ID checks, access/egress control and physical officers patrolling the halls. This last issue, the actual officer, is an idea that has revolutionized the way we view American schools. Many issues can arise when dealing with the subject of officers in schools, especially if they are sworn public defenders such as a School Resource Officer. This paper will discuss:
1) What exactly are School Resource Officers?
2) What is their function in the school system and does it detract from the institutions true purpose, to educate youth?
3) How are they organized? Who regulates them? How well are they trained?
On top of all these questions, problems with knowing to whom they report, and who is in charge when a crisis occurs can exacerbate any problem that may be had in an educational system. To start off, it is important to look at where SRO's came from.
History
Contrary to popular thought, School Resource Officers have been around for some time, the first one in Flint, Michigan, in 1953 (Mulqueen & Connie, 1999). In 1968, the Fresno, California Police Department attempted to revitalize its image in the eyes of its youth. One tactic that was employed included the deployment of seven (7) plainclothes officers to area elementary and middle schools "to promote community relations between students and police"(West et. al, 1995). In 1974, Fresno PD revamped its organization to include a Juvenile Bureau and reassigned its seven SROs to high schools as "juvenile detectives," whose job it was to follow up on crimes that either occurred on school property or involved a student.Although the SROs were present in the school, patrol officers answered most distress calls......
