EDUCATION UNDER ARREST: - Justice Policy Institute

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Justice Policy Institute is anational nonprofitorganization dedicated toreducing the use ofincarceration and the justicesystem and promotingpolicies that improve thewell-being of all people andcommunities1012 14 th Street, NW, Suite 400Washington, DC 20005TEL (202) 558-7974FAX (202) 558-7978WWW.JUSTICEPOLICY.ORGTABLE OF CONTENTSINTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1WHAT IS A SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER? ............................................... 2Not all police are SROs, but all SROs are police .................................... 3WHY ARE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS IN OUR SCHOOLS? .............. 5SCHOOLS DON’T NEED SROS TO BE SAFE ............................................... 9Schools are the safest they’ve been in 20 years. .................................. 10School safety can be achieved without SROs or law enforcement. ..... 11SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS ALLOW A RELIANCE ON ARRESTSTO ADDRESS STUDENT DISCIPLINE .......................................................... 13Presence of SROs is related to increases in referrals to the justicesystem, especially for minor offenses ................................................... 13SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICERS INTERFERE WITH EDUCATION ............. 17Involving youth in the justice system undermines goals of schools ..... 17Arrests usually mean suspension or expulsion ...................................... 18SROs disrupt learning ............................................................................ 19SOME STUDENTS ARE AFFECTED BY SROS MORE THAN OTHERS ...... 21Youth of color ......................................................................................... 21Youth with disabilities ............................................................................ 23POSITIVE INVESTMENTS IN SCHOOLS WILL YIELD SAFER,HEALTHIER SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES .............................................. 24Investing in education promotes safety ................................................. 24Invest in evidence-based initiatives in schools ...................................... 26MODELS FOR REDUCING LAW ENFORCEMENT INVOLVEMENT INSCHOOLS ........................................................................................................ 29Graduated responses reduce the number of students going to thejustice system ........................................................................................ 29RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................... 31
EDUCATION UNDER ARREST 1PART IINTRODUCTIONFueled by increasingly punitive approaches to student behavior such as “zerotolerance policies,” the past 20 years have seen an expansion in the presence of lawenforcement, including school resource officers (SROs), in schools. According to theU.S. Department of Justice, the number of school resource officers increased 38percent between 1997 and 2007. 1 Some cities, like New York City, 2 employ moreofficers in schools than many small cities’ entire police force.With this rapid increase in the presence of lawenforcement, including SROs, in schools, districtsfrom around the country 3 have found that youthare being referred to the justice system at increasedrates and for minor offenses like disorderlyconduct. This is causing lasting harm to youth, asarrests and referrals to the juvenile justice systemdisrupt the educational process and can lead tosuspension, expulsion, or other alienation fromschool. All of these negative effects set youth on atrack to drop out of school and put them at greaterrisk of becoming involved in the justice systemlater on, all at tremendous costs for taxpayers aswell the youth themselves and their communities.With reported rates of school violence and theftare at the lowest levels since data were firstcollected by the National Center for EducationStatistics in 1992, 4 and federal funding for policingon the decline, criminal justice practitioners andadministrators, school officials, state policymakers,and even the federal government are allquestioning the need to continue keeping lawenforcement in schools and relying on lawenforcement responses to student misconduct.School safety should be a priority: it is not onlyimportant for protecting the physical safety ofstudents, teachers, and staff, but also formaintaining a productive learning environment.However, law enforcement in schools is not thebest nor most cost-effective way to achieve thosegoals. SROs and law enforcement in schools arenot needed to keep kids safe, especially whenyouth pay the price of becoming involved in thejuvenile justice system and suffer a lifetime ofnegative effects as a result. 5For many years prior to the widespread placementof SROs, schools operated using their owndiscretion regarding student behavior, calling thepolice for incidents of serious concern, butprimarily relying on teachers, administrators andcounselors to educate and maintain safety. Withincreased understanding of practices that promotepositive and safe school environments, schoolsshould follow the lead of jurisdictions like ClaytonCounty, Georgia, which has decreased referrals tothe juvenile justice system by establishing adisciplinary code. In addition, jurisdictions shouldalso reconsider the need to use law enforcementofficers to carry out the mentoring, counseling,and social worker functions that could be handledby counselors, teachers, and school staff. It is in thebest interest of communities to find ways toeducate all children. Pushing kids out of school byfocusing on law enforcement responses andpunitive policies toward behavior ultimatelyresults in more incarceration and reducedcommunity well-being.
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