PEORIA, Ill. – An expert who has spent years examining the need for “school resource officers” says they can be a help, even in the wake of incidents like the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
Emily Owens authored a 2016 report called “Testing the School to Prison Pipeline, and tells WMBD’s Craig Collins on the downside, police were making more arrests of younger people, but the upside was good.
“The principals reported that their schools were more safe,” said Owens. “There were fewer incidents of violence, and fewer incidents of…property offenses.”
Owens says the increse in arrests of students seemed to be connected to areas where school resources officers were put in place thanks to a federal grant.
She says it’s important to look at how the job description of the SRO is constructed.
“I think it’s a mistake to just say ‘this is a good idea’ or ‘this is a bad idea,’” said Owens. “There’s ways to do it correctly that keep students safe, and really kind of minimizes criminal justice exposure for kids, and there’s ways to do it wrong.”
CLICK HERE for more on Owens’ study.
