Although research on the effectiveness of school resource officers (SROs) remains mixed, the number of SROs in the U.S. continues to grow. We interviewed 18 SROs, SRO supervisors, and school leaders from exemplar programs to explore SRO role perceptions. Analysis revealed three themes: (1) SROs support a safe learning environment via multiple…

Threat assessment has been proposed as a method for schools to respond to student threats of violence that does not rely on exclusionary discipline practices (e.g., suspension, transfer, expulsion, arrest). The present study compared disciplinary consequences for 657 students in 260 schools using the Comprehensive Student Threat Assessment…

National debate over law enforcement in schools has largely overlooked student reporting of violent threats to school resource officer (SROs). This statewide assessment of Virginia high school students (n = 99,358) found that the majority of Black (64%), Hispanic (72%), White (71%), and other racial/ethnic identity (71%) students agreed the SRO…

College students who reside in campus dormitories at public universities have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their dorm rooms that is protected by the fourth amendment; and officials cannot search these rooms for law enforcement purposes without a valid warrant. Non-students, however, have no such reasonable expectation of privacy in…

Like many urban campuses, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) in Richmond, Virginia, has students living in private residences scattered throughout the local community. These students come and go from campus at all hours of the day and night. The safety of these students, and all other students, staff and visitors becomes a major priority for…

On April 16, 2007, Seung Hui Cho, a livid and mentally ill student, shot to death 32 students and faculty of Virginia Tech, wounded many more people, and then killed himself. This incident has impacted college and university campuses nationwide in efforts to seek mentally disturbed students and help them, to have effective emergency teams, as well…

This research examined Virginia community college students' perceptions of campus safety. A survey of 11,161 students revealed the crimes students most feared being a victim of while on the community college campus and the areas in which they felt the most and least safe. The research also demonstrated the effect certain variables had on students'…

The first police in the United States to embrace the kind of community-focused policing that "modern" law enforcement embraces, and which was extolled by Sir Robert Peel in 1826, were the New Haven, Connecticut police officers hired by Yale University in 1894 to patrol and keep order on campus. Why did Yale not simply rely on the New…

The "Code of Virginia" requires school divisions statewide to submit data to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on incidents of discipline, crime, and violence (DCV). School divisions began reporting such data in 1991. This annual report focuses primarily on DCV data submitted for school year 2008-2009, with selected comparisons…

The "Code of Virginia" requires school divisions statewide to submit data to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on incidents of discipline, crime, and violence (DCV). School divisions began reporting such data in 1991. This annual report focuses primarily on DCV data submitted for school year 2009-2010, with selected comparisons…

The "Code of Virginia" requires school divisions statewide to submit data to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on incidents of discipline, crime, and violence (DCV). School divisions began reporting such data in 1991. This annual report focuses primarily on DCV data submitted for school year 2007-2008, with selected comparisons…

The "Code of Virginia" requires school divisions statewide to submit data to the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) on incidents of discipline, crime, and violence (DCV). School divisions began reporting such data in 1991. This annual report focuses primarily on DCV data submitted for school year 2006-2007, with selected comparisons…

This report provides results from the Fall 1999 Department of Criminal Justice Service Survey of Virginia School Resource Officer (SRO) Programs. Through this study, all Virginia police departments and sheriff's offices with primary responsibility for patrol, crime prevention, and community policing within their jurisdictions were contacted by…

This report presents findings from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services ongoing evaluation of local School Resources Office (SRO) programs. Evaluation data were obtained from 3,244 Student Incident Reports (SIR), a survey of 2,067 school staff, a survey of 11,864 middle school and high school students, and 104 SRO quarterly…

This evaluation report is the second publication from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services' (DCJS) ongoing evaluation of the Virginia School Resource Officer (SRO) program. The findings are based on data submitted by 78 local SRO programs, all of which were awarded grants of federal or state monies from DCJS. The findings are…