In light of the recent violent crimes and murders in and around educational institutions in the past year here in the United States, fear of crime is of great concern, Analyzing student's fear of crime levels and their perceptions' of the people and entities whom are in place to protect them from victimization is always up for discussion, This…

The school resource officer's primary purpose within schools is to maintain a visible presence and work to promote a safe and secure learning environment (Stern & Petrosino, 2018). The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) recommends a three-pronged approach to school policing termed the SRO Triad. The Triad calls for the…

This dissertation examines the effects of neighborhood characteristics on Detroit Public School Community District students' attendance rates for the 2018-19 school year. First, I analyze the effects of daylight savings time, relative to school start time, on absences for elementary and middle school students. By observing the natural change in…

According to Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs, safety is the second most basic need, before love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization, that humans require in order to be motivated. When this theory is placed within the context of higher education, one could argue that in order to reach their full potential, students must first feel…

In response to growing concerns over school violence, crime, and safety, schools continue to implement school crime prevention and reduction policies and programs. Aside from the increased demands on school budgets imposed by new and enhanced school safety programs, two additional factors further complicate matters. First, just as schools vary in…

The practice of temporarily removing students from school as a form of punishment (i.e., suspensions) remains quite common. This study uses longitudinal data from a large, urban school district in California to assess whether the use of suspensions improves school safety in the following school year. Additional analyses by student race and…

In response to tragic school shootings, heightened attention has been devoted to making schools safer through the implementation of security features. However, excessive security measures have a negative impact on school climate, student functioning, and academic achievement. Therefore, there is a critical need to design schools that are safe and…

Social control and procedural justice theories indicate that informal social control reduces problem behaviors. However, many schools have implemented formal control mechanisms such as school security measures. This study examines the association between school security measures (security personnel, metal detectors, and surveillance cameras) and…

Schools located in disadvantaged urban neighborhoods report disproportionately high rates of crime and violence. Theoretical reasoning suggests that school-based parent participation may lead to improved school safety in these settings, but little empirical work has tested this relationship. This study examines the relationship between…

The current study aims to examine and compare predictors of attitudinal support for campus carry and concealed carrying behaviors on a campus where faculty, staff, and students can legally carry a weapon. This explores the relationship between attitudes and behaviors as it relates to concealed weapons on campuses. Whereas attitudinal correlates…

Background: This study used a new Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) assessment tool to test the associations between physical attributes of schools and violence-related behaviors and perceptions of students. Methods: Data were collected from 4717 students from 50 middle schools. Student perceptions of risk and safety, and…

School resource officers' (SROs) presence (e.g., engagement in patrol, carrying firearms, etc.) and prevention (e.g., mentoring, teaching) roles have not been distinguished in investigations of SROs' association with student outcomes. A model predicting nonviolent incidents and serious violent incidents reported to police from SRO presence and…

Limited empirical findings suggest that teacher victimization at school is highly prevalent, with detrimental negative impacts on victimized teachers. Given the scarce body of literature on teacher victimization, further research is necessary to investigate its extent, predictors, and negative consequences. The present research, using a…

Typically, school administrators determine their school's security practices, but parental involvement may also play an important role in school security decisions. Data from the 2015-2016 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS 2016) was used to examine the relationship between parental involvement and the presence of physically invasive…

In addition to the potential loss of life, school shootings can evoke feelings of profound fear and anxiety that disturb a community's sense of safety and security. Questions have been raised about whether schools' approaches to addressing student behavior are a factor in school shootings. These approaches include discipline that removes the…