Perceptions of school resource officers on juvenile delinquents in schools
Keywords:
School Resource Officer, Discretion, Delinquency, Juvenile Justice System, SchoolAbstract
Violence is very common in the schools of the U.S. Therefore, families have suspicions not only about competency of the education but also for safety of their children in the school. While there is a great deal of studies which examined the effectiveness and success of school resource officers in schools, and studies which explore the perceptions of citizens, school administration, and juveniles toward police, fewer studies exploring the perceptions of school resource officers about different issues such as their perceptions toward juvenile justice system, school administration and staff, families of juveniles, and juvenile offenders. Fifteen school resource officers were interviewed in schools in a mid-sized Midwestern city in the U.S.. The researcher was allowed to conduct interview with police officers by Police Department’s approval. The consent forms were delivered to participants which were reviewed and signed by the participants. Purposive sampling method was used by asking Deputy Chief in police department either who has worked or currently working in schools school resource officers. The interviews were digitally recorded. The researcher saved these interviews to the computer and transcribed them into the word processor. Findings revealed that there was no standardized training for school resource officers. Their criterion for using discretion was mostly based on the attitude of the families toward them or toward their children. They perceived minor offenses in schools as ‘gateway’ for future serious offenses. Since the study participants were not randomly selected and the sample size was 15, findings cannot be generalized to all school resource officers in the U.S. However, it is expected that all school resource officers would have common experiences such as use of discretion, problems with school administration, and the prevalence of violence among youth. Thus, this study can provide some insights about the experiences of school resource officers from other States of the U.S. Further research in the area of school resource officers is needed to determine solutions to youth violence in schools.
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