Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Policing Schools: Examining the Impact of Place Management Activities on School Violence

  • Published:
American Journal of Criminal Justice Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study examines whether the presence of school resource officers (SROs) and their level of involvement in place management activities are associated with higher or lower rates of school-based serious violence. This study uses data from the 2010 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) conducted by National Center for Educational Statistics. Propensity score matching is used to create a quasi-experimental design and isolate the influence of SROs and their level of involvement in place management activities on school-based serious violence. The analysis reveals that schools with a school resource officer are associated with higher rates of reported serious violence and those schools with SROs that participate in more place manager duties are also associated with higher rates of reported serious violence. These findings do not support the notion that SROs are acting as effective place managers and through this place management, reducing reported serious violence. Rather, it appears that the presences of a SRO and their execution of place manager duties is associated with an increase in the reporting of serious violence. Policy implications and limitations of the current research are also discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. A combined school consists of both middle and high school.

References

  • Archer, D. (2009). Introduction: Challenging the school-to-prison pipeline. New York Law School Review, 54, 867–872.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beauregard, E., Rossmo, D. K., & Proulx, J. (2007). A descriptive model of the hunting process of serial sex offenders: A rational choice perspective. Journal of Family Violence, 22, 449–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Beger, R. R. (2002). Expansion of police power in public schools and the vanishing rights of students’. Social Justice, 29(1–2), 119–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernasco, W., & Block, R. (2009). Where offenders choose to attack: A discrete choice model of robberies in Chicago. Criminology, 47, 93–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjarnason, T., Sigurdardottir, T. J., & Thorlindsson, T. (1999). Human agency, capable guardians, and structural constraints: A lifestyle approach to the study of violent victimization. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 28, 105–119.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Braga, A. A., & Weisburd, D. (2010). Policing problem places: Crime hot spots and effective prevention. USA: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Brantingham, P., & Brantingham, P. (1995). Criminality of place: Crime generators and crime attractors. European Journal on Criminal Policy And Research, 3(3), 5–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, K., Schiraldi, V., & Ziedenberg, J. (1999). School house hype: Two years later. San Francisco, CA: Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, D. (2006). Understanding and assessing school police officers: A conceptual and methodological comment. Journal of Criminal Justice, 34, 591–604.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burrow, J. D., & Apel, R. (2008). Youth behavior, school structure, and student risk of victimization. Justice Quarterly, 25, 349–380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canady, M., James, B., & Nease, J. (2012). To protect and educate: The school resource officer and the prevention of violence in schools. Hoover, AL: National Association of School Resource Officers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chrusciel, M. M., Wolfe, S., & Kaminski, R. (2015). Law enforcement executives and principal perspectives on school safety measures: School resource officers and armed school employees. Policing: An International Journal of Police Strategies and Management, 38(1), 24–39.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, R. V., & Bichler-Robertson, G. (1998). Place managers, slumlords, and crime in low rent apartment buildings. Security Journal, 11, 11–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, L. E., & Felson, M. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activities approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588–608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coon, J. K., & Travis, L. F. (2012). The role of police in public schools: A comparison of principal and police reports of activities in schools. Police Practice and Research, 13(1), 15–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cornish, D. B., & Clarke, R. V. (2008). The rational choice perspective. In R. Wortley & L. Mazerolle (Eds.), Environmental criminology and crime analysis (pp. 21–47). Cullompton, England: Willan Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMitchell, T. A., & Cobb, C. D. (2003). Policy responses to violence in our schools: An exploration of security as a fundamental value. Education & Law Journal, 2, 459–484.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eck , J . E . ( 1994 ) Drug markets and drug places: A case–control study of the spatial structure of illicit drug dealing . PhD dissertation, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Maryland, College Park, MD.

  • Eck, J. E., Clarke, R. V., & Guerette, R. T. (2007). Risky facilities: Crime concentration in homogeneous sets of establishments and facilities. Crime prevention studies, 21, 225–264.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eck, J. E., & Wartell, J. (1998). Improving the management of rental properties with drug problems: A randomized experiment. Civil Remedies, 161–185.

  • Eck, J. E., & Weisburd, D. (1995). Crime places in crime theory. Crime and Place, Crime Prevention Studies, 4, 1–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fader, J. J., Lockwood, B., Schall, V. L., & Stokes, B. (2015). A promising approach to narrowing the school-to-prison pipeline. The WISE arrest diversion program. Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 13, 123–142.

  • Felson, M., & Clarke, R. V. (1998). Opportunity Makes The Thief (Police Research Series, No. 98). London, England: Home Office.

  • Felson, M., & Eckert, M. (2016). Crime and everyday life. London, UK: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finn, P., & McDevitt, J. (2005). National assessment of school resource officers programs: Final project report. United States Department of Justice.

  • Finn, P., Shively, M., McDevitt, J., Lassiter, W., & Rich, T. (2005). Comparison of program activities and lessons learned among 19 school resource officer (SRO) programs. United States Department of Justice.

  • Finn, P., Townsend, M., Shively, M., & Rich, T. (2005). Comparison of program activities and lessons learned among 19 school resource officer (SRO) programs. National Institute of Justice.

  • Garland, D. (2001). Culture of control: Crime and social order in contemporary society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garofalo, J., & Clark, D. (1992). Guardianship and residential burglary. Justice Quarterly, 9, 443–463.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haviland, A. M., & Nagin, D. S. (2005). Using group-based trajectory modeling in conjunction with propensity scores to improve balance. Journal of Experiential Criminology, 3, 65–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, G. E., Jennings, W. G., Jordan, K. L., & Gabbidon, S. L. (2011). Racial profiling in decisions to search: A preliminary analysis using propensity-score matching. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 13, 336–347.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirshfield. (2008). Preparing for prison? The criminalization of school discipline in the USA. Theoretical Criminology, 12, 79–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, W. G., Khey, D. N., Maskaly, J., & Donner, C. M. (2011). Evaluating the relationship between law enforcement and school security measures and violent crime in schools. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 11(2), 109–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, I. (1999). School violence: The effectiveness of a school resource officer program in a southern city. Journal of Criminal Justice, 27, 173–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kupchik, A. (2010). Homeroom security. New York: New York University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Lawton, B. A., Taylor, R. B., & Luongo, A. J. (2005). Police officers on drug corners in Philadelphia, drug crime, and violent crime: Intended, diffusion, and displacement impacts. Justice Quarterly, 22, 427–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maskaly, J., Donner, C. M., Lanterman, J., & Jennings, W. G. (2011). On the association between SROs, private security guards, use-of-force capabilities, and violent crime in schools. Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations, 11, 159–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matsueda, R. L., Kreager, D. A., & Huizinga, D. (2006). Deterring delinquents: A rational choice model of theft and violence. American Sociological Review, 71, 95–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • May, D. C., Fessel, S. D., & Means, S. (2004). Predictions of principals’ perceptions of school resource officer effectiveness in Kentucky. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 29, 75–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazerolle, L. G., Kadleck, C., & Roehl, J. (1998). Controlling drug and disorder problems: The role of place managers. Criminology, 36(2), 371–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Na, C., & Gottfredson, D. (2013). Police officers in schools: Effects on school crime and the processing of offending behaviors. Justice Quarterly, 30, 619–650.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rhodes, T. N. (2015). Officers and school settings: Examining the influence of the school environment on officer roles and job satisfaction. Police Quarterly, 18(2), 134–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rich, T., & Finn, P. (2001). School COP: A software package for enhancing school safety. Cambridge, MA: Abt Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ridgeway, G. (2006). Assessing the effect of race bias in post-traffic stop outcomes using propensity score matching. Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 22, 1–29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rimer, S. (2004). ‘Unruly Students Facing Arrest, Not Detention’, New York Times, 4 January, p. A1.

  • Robers, S., Zhang, J., Truman, J., & Snyder, T. D. (2012). School survey on crime and safety: 2011, public-use data file codebook (NCES 2012–002). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, P. R. (2002). Attributing effects to treatment in matched observational studies. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 97, 183–192.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1983). The central role of propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika, 70, 41–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, P. R., & Rubin, D. B. (1985). Constructing a Control Group Using Multivariate Matched Sampling Methods That Incorporate the Propensity Score. The American Statistician, 39, 33–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmerler, K. (2005). Disorder at budget motels. Problem-oriented guides for police problem-specific guide series, No. 30. Washington DC: U.S. Department of Justice.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schreck, C. J., Miller, J. M., & Gibson, C. L. (2003). Trouble in the school yard: A study of risk factors of victimization at school. Crime and Delinquency, 49, 460–484.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seipel, C., & Eifler, S. (2010). Opportunities, rational choice, and self-control: On the interaction of person and situation in a general theory of crime. Crime & Delinquency, 56, 167–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shepherd, R. E., Jr., & DeMarco, A. J. (1996). Weapons in schools and zero tolerance. Criminal Justice, 11(2), 46–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Simon, J. (2006). Governing through crime: How the war on crime transformed American democracy and created a culture of fear. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skogan, W. G. (1990). Disorder and decline: Crime and the spiral of decay in American neighborhoods. Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skubak Tillyer, M., Fisher, B. S., & Wilcox, P. (2011). The effects of school crime prevention on students’ violent victimization, risk perception, and fear of crime: A multilevel opportunity perspective. Justice Quarterly, 28, 249–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stokes, R. (2002). Place management in commercial areas: Customer service representatives in Philadelphia’s central business district. Security Journal, 15, 7–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theriot, M. T. (2009). School resource officers and the criminalization of student behavior. Journal of Criminal Justice, 37(3), 280–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tonsager, K., Neiman, S., Hryczaniuk, C., & Guan, X. (2010). School Survey on Crime and Safety: 2007–08, Public-Use Data File Codebook (NCES 2010–334). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisburd, D., & Green, L. (1995). Policing drug hot spots: The Jersey City drug market analysis experiment. Justice Quarterly, 12, 711–735.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wright, R. T., & Decker, S. (1994). Burglars on the job: Streetlife and residential break-ins. Boston, MA: Northeastern University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Criminal Justice, University of Louisville, 2301 S. 3rd Street, Louisville, KY, 40292, USA

    Kristin Swartz, Cherie Dawson-Edwards & George E. Higgins

  2. East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA

    Dustin L. Osborne

Authors
  1. Kristin Swartz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dustin L. Osborne
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Cherie Dawson-Edwards
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. George E. Higgins
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kristin Swartz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Swartz, K., Osborne, D.L., Dawson-Edwards, C. et al. Policing Schools: Examining the Impact of Place Management Activities on School Violence. Am J Crim Just 41, 465–483 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9306-6

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-015-9306-6

Keywords

Search

Navigation