Despite a lack of empirical support for its efficacy in reducing violence, there remains a strong tendency among schools to respond to the threat of school violence via increased security measures, such as school resource officers (SROs) (Jonson, 2017). Although the implementation of SROs continues to center on their law enforcement background and…

This examination sought to gather data on the perceived degree of violence in schools and the effectiveness of the school resource officer (SRO) programs developed and implemented to reduce school violence. In addition, the perceived responsibilities of SROs were examined, highlighting their variability and scope. For this purpose, Florida K-12…

This paper describes the development and impact of an underage drinking reduction program designed and implemented by a South Carolina county sheriff's office with assistance from the county coalition. In December 2017, high school surveys identified family and friends as the alcohol source 82.2% of the time. In Summer 2018, sheriff deputies began…

With increased media coverage of school violence, communities and schools have hired school resource officers (SROs) in an attempt to reduce the violence. These SROs often have a variety of duties and training depending on a variety of factors both related and unrelated to school crime and violence prevention. These may include typical school…

The use of School Resource Officers (SRO's) has become an increasingly popular strategy in attempting to create safe learning environments on school campuses in the United States. The implementation of SROs saw a significant increase following the school shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, CO on April 20, 1999. As media attention and…

Bullying continues to be an omnipresent public health issue in school communities, affecting children's and adolescent's academic success, socio-emotional well-being, and overall development. Schools play a fundamental role in addressing bullying, yet parent and community involvement is equally critical. This article explores the significance of…

School safety measures have become a significant concern in school districts, with efforts ranging from proactive strategies to reactive responses. This abstract delves into the contrasting approaches of proactive and reactive measures and examines their respective impacts on the culture and climate within schools. Proactive safety measures…

Since the tragic death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police on Memorial Day, protestors and policymakers have been calling for reform to, and in some cases the defunding of, police departments around the country. Though Floyd's death is unrelated to K-12 schools, the Minneapolis Board of Education has severed its contract with city…

This guide from the National Gang Center is designed to provide schools and law enforcement with sound practices and collaborative techniques to identify, assess, and address gang activity in the school setting. [The National Gang Center (NGC) is managed by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).]

This article describes efforts to adapt an adolescent version of the Coping Power program, called Coping Power in the City, for use with high school students attending an urban school district with high concentrations of students exposed to community violence and challenges related to elevated tensions between youth and police. The goal of this…

U.S. public school students increasingly attend schools with sworn law enforcement officers present. Yet, little is known about how these school resource officers (SROs) affect school environments or student outcomes. Our study uses a fuzzy regression discontinuity (RD) design with national school-level data from 2014 to 2018 to estimate the…

Many studies and reports, both governmental and academic, plus legislation, have suggested and some mandated the establishment of threat assessment teams to protect campuses. These teams have proliferated across university, college and community college campuses nationally. Despite these efforts, targeted violence continues in our communities and…

We summarize current data and understanding about the prevalence of gun violence at schools and risk of rampage school shootings. Following that comes a discussion of gun availability among youth and strategies and practices in the United States and abroad that have been implemented to limit access to firearms for minors. Next, we review the…

February 14 marked the 1-year anniversary of the school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and April 20 marks the 20th anniversary of the tragedy at Columbine. Much progress has been made over the last 20 years in the understanding of threat assessment, crisis preparedness, and the importance of increasing…

National debate over law enforcement in schools has largely overlooked student reporting of violent threats to school resource officer (SROs). This statewide assessment of Virginia high school students (n = 99,358) found that the majority of Black (64%), Hispanic (72%), White (71%), and other racial/ethnic identity (71%) students agreed the SRO…