Implementing the SRO

The school board will have the task of defining what the job of the SRO will be, how he will be supervised, and what will define a successful SRO. The draft mission statement gives some of the answers, but questions remain.

The mission statement says that the SRO will abide by the policy of the school but will be under the supervision of the police chief. Serving two masters is a potentially conflicting task.

Parent's complaints

Parents who have complaints about the actions of the SRO may have confusion about the procedure for complaints. The school administration sets policy, but they do they have any authority to tell the SRO to change his actions? There are formal procedures to file complaints against officers through the police department, but that procedure is much more formal and legal. Unless the action of the officer is blatantly wrong, parents may feel that route will be called overreaction.

An example would be a parent who feels that their child is being targeted by the SRO - searches conducted of the child's locker on a regular basis, or the SRO sending the child to be disciplined for minor offenses which are ignored in other students. These are not actions which would be appropriate for a formal police department complain, but in a teacher would be under the review and control of the administration. Will the parents of children in these situations feel that there is no proper way to ask for change?

Discipline vs police charges

The draft mission statement says that disciplinary actions against students who break school rules will be the duty of the normal school administrators, and the SRO will only take actions against students who are violating laws. The boundary between these two can be confusing.

What actions will be taken against students who engage in fighting? Assault against another student fits the legal definition of battery. Will common spats between students become elevated to situations which will involve police charges? Does a slap fit the definition of assault? What about a shove?

The code of student conduct requires many of these examples to be reported to the police department (even threats of violence are supposed to be reported). But in the case where the report was made to the police, the decision about what level of crime will result in charges primarily rests with the school administration. As the official who is closest to the situation, their judgment is better.

A SRO full time at the school will change the situation. Who will make the decision when there is a disagreement between the SRO and the administration on charges vs. school discipline? Will the SRO increase the number of cases where police charges are filed, and will that improve the behavior of students? If all fights will be sent to the SRO for resolution, will the students feel like they are being treated like prisoners in a jail?

Defining a successful SRO

Quantifiable criteria should be used to gage the success of the SRO. Some of these numbers would be the self-reported drug use among students, number of students caught with drugs, number of incidents of violence in the schools.

Self-reported drug use should be lowered after the SRO program is in effect. If the DARE program is as effective as the proponents claim then there should be a immediate effect which increases in subsequent years.

There may be an initial increase in students who are caught with drugs, due to increased surveillance from the SRO. However, there should then be a decrease in number of students caught with drugs. If the desired effect is to decrease drug use, there should be an attendant decrease in interdiction. If the result of the SRO program is a continuous increase in drug busts, then the program has not been effective in stopping drug use. More students charged with drug violations is not a solution, it is an indication of failure.

Incidence of violence in the school should decrease if the SRO is successful. If the SRO can create an environment where solving interpersonal problems without violence is rewarded, then conflicts will decrease.

The most important factor for the success of the SRO is that the Chief must not gauge job performance by the number of arrests. Any quota system would distort the judgment of the SRO, and lead to arrests in order to appear "tough", not in order to protect the school.

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