While research consistently finds that increases in a school's SRO/police presence correspond with increases in the rate of school referrals of student disciplinary incidents to law enforcement agencies, direct evidence of distributional concerns across various student subgroups is scant. Drawing on data from the 2017-2018 School Survey on Crime…

Over the past several decades, the presence of school-based law enforcement (SBLE) has grown steadily in the United States. In recent years, along with the steady growth of SBLE, criticisms of SBLE have grown louder and more pointed. This brief reports on the results of a study that applied a rigorous literature synthesis method--a systematic…

We utilize original survey data to examine factors influencing parental assessment of schools. When asked a series of questions about their evaluation of hypothetical schools in a survey experiment, respondents were given the option to select "don't know" and explain in their own words what additional information they would want to know…

Amid seemingly endless media reports of sexual misconduct in our various institutions and particularly our schools, calls for better addressing gender injustice through education have again proliferated. In light of these calls, it continues to be important to appreciate the difficulties of teaching and activism in this area within the context of…

My dissertation studies the relationship between counseling and violence within U.S. schools. Much of the research on school security and school safety tends to lean heavily on routine activities theory and other opportunity theories, which limits the study of other factors critically relevant to this topic such as school climate. This…

As the 2021-22 academic year came to a close, the United States was rocked by the news of another school mass shooting, this time at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen fourth-grade students and two of their teachers were killed when an 18-year-old former student entered the school through an unlocked door, made his way to his former…

Through a case study including focus groups with 32 cisgender women and document analysis of campus newspaper and websites, we highlight ways college women navigate multiple and conflicting messages about campus safety and sexual violence on campus. Although students are aware of statistics indicating most sexual violence happens between two…

School safety and security strategies is a generic qualitative study that seeks to comprehend school safety and disciplinary strategies through the perspectives and opinions of teachers and principals. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the strategies used in secondary inner-city schools to regulate student discipline…

This is the 25th edition of Indicators of School Crime and Safety. This report provides summary statistics to inform the nation about current aspects of crime and safety in schools. This report does so by highlighting selected findings from 23 indicators on various school crime and safety topics. By synthesizing findings in this way, the report…

The "defund the police" movement has recently called for the removal of police--or school resource officers (SROs)--from schools. This call is driven by concerns that SROs may heighten student contact with criminal justice or lead to disproportionately harsh disciplinary consequences. This study uses linked disciplinary, academic,…

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…

The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of safety, determine the factors that impacted student perceptions of campus safety, and to determine whether perceptions of campus safety had an impact on student engagement in campus and student activities. Campus safety and student engagement were analyzed through a literature review.…

School safety is a priority for school administrators and policy makers as they seek strategies to provide an environment conducive to learning. Beyond preventing crime, schools must contend with social disturbances that may not rise to the level of criminal activity, but can negatively affect students, teachers, and the school environment. One…

The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative (CSSI) is a large-scale, integrated research effort designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide. It was initiated in 2014 at the request of Congress. The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) administers the CSSI as a research grant program. Through the CSSI, the NIJ funds research-focused…

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…