Procedural Justice, Legitimacy, and School Principals’ Evaluations of School Resource Officers

Abstract

Violence and active shooter situations in schools have been important issues to the public, policy makers, and scholars in recent years. School resource officers (SROs) are widely used in efforts to address school crime-related threats. Yet, little is known about the factors that influence key stakeholders' (e.g., school principals) evaluations of such officers. The present study uses survey data from a sample of public school principals in South Carolina to examine the role of procedural justice theory in understanding evaluations of SROs. The results reveal that procedural justice is associated with principals' support for SROs, perceived effectiveness of SROs, and level of trust and satisfaction in SROs. The policy implications of the results center on the importance of SRO procedural fairness in maintaining quality relationships with top school administrators which may ultimately have a wider impact on the success of SRO programs.

Teachers’ and Administrators’ Perceptions of Police-to-Student Encounters: The Impact of Student Race, Police Legitimacy, and Legal Authoritarianism

“…Police legitimacy also predicts an increased likelihood to condone “reasonable” force employed by a police officer to control violent protesters, control a suspect who is resisting arrest, and protect themselves from getting attacked (Gerber & Jackson, 2017). Moreover, school principals who perceive school police as legitimate are more likely to view the use of police officers as an effective strategy to keep schools safe (Wolfe et al, 2017). In addition, school principal endorsement of police legitimacy was associated with increased beliefs that police officers treat teachers and students fairly, take teachers’ and students’ needs into account, treat teachers and students with respect, and make decisions based on facts (not personal biases; Wolfe et al, 2017).…”

Policing Education: An Empirical Review of the Challenges and Impact of the Work of School Police Officers

“…Reducing role confusion and promoting satisfaction can, in turn, create a more sustainable workforce. This is particularly important because the ability of SPOs to work with schools in sustainable ways is associated with positive perceptions of SPOs among school administrators and linked to SPO programs’ success in reducing crime and arrest (Wolfe, Chrusciel, Rojek, Hansen, & Kaminski, 2017; Zhang, 2018). Furthermore, clarifying and limiting the roles of the SPO workforce would likely result in need for a smaller number of SPOs deployed at fewer schools.…”

A Multiple Case Study of the Interagency Relationship Between School Administrators and Law Enforcement Personnel in the Creation, Implementation, and Sustaining of School Emergency Management Plans

“…President Obama’s administration passed an executive order to increase the presence of officers in schools (Chrusciel et al, 2015). In 2014, the Obama administration invested over US$61 million to improve school safety by providing additional resources and research for school safety measures (Wolfe et al, 2017). It is difficult to obtain an exact number of SROs assigned to schools across the nation because of the lack of a standard definition for the position.…”

“…Interview questions nine and 10 were questions directly related to the strengths and weaknesses of the relationships between the building principal and members of the law enforcement agency (Gulen, 2010;Trump, 2011;Cray & Weller, 2011;Wolfe et al, 2017).…”

“…Interview question 11 was directed at fostering relationships between individuals and the agencies (Wolfe et al, 2017). Regular meetings and training sessions are significantly important in developing effective relationships; however, opportunities to meet outside of the business environment allows for an additional layer of relationship and trust building (Kapucu et al, 2013).…”