School Resource Officers in Kentucky

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School Resource Officers in Kentucky

Fall 1999

School Resource Officers (SROs) are increasingly becoming common figures in schools across Kentucky. In an effort to identify the number of SROs in Kentucky and develop a curriculum to train SROs, the Center for School Safety (CSS) located in Eastern Kentucky University’s College of Law Enforcement, conducted a telephone survey of law enforcement agencies across the state during the Fall of 1999.

The SRO benchmark survey was designed to determine how many Kentucky law enforcement agencies employed SROs, their primary duties, training received for SRO duties, and how their programs were funded. The survey was completed by two separate groups of individuals, half by an outside agency and the other half by the staff of the Justice and Safety Center (JSC). To ensure completion as well as accurate data, surveys were administered over the telephone. The survey took approximately one month to complete, beginning at the end of October and ending at the beginning of November 1999. Of the approximately 400 law enforcement agencies located in Kentucky, 310 of those agencies were successfully contacted for the survey.

Profile of SROs in Kentucky

Figure 1 illustrates how many law enforcement agencies have SRO programs. Of the 310 law enforcement agencies that were contacted, 104 of those agencies indicated that they currently have an SRO program and an additional 52 agencies have plans to start an SRO program. The remaining 154 agencies indicated they do not have an SRO program and do not have plans to implement an SRO program (see Figure 1). Those agencies that do not have a SRO program reported a variety of reasons that they do not have a current program and do not foresee an SRO program in the future. The most common responses were that their agency was too small to have such a program or that other agencies in the county already had a program. Of those 104 agencies that have SRO programs, 52.9% of them (N = 55) have only one officer in the schools. Forty-seven percent of the agencies

(N = 49) have 2 or more SROs (see Figure 2).

Figure 1 : How many respondents have an SRO Program?

N

Figure 2: Number of SROs placed in Kentucky schools

Of the 104 law enforcement agencies that have an SRO program, 42.3% of those agencies (N = 44) have had their program for less than a year. Only 26.9% of the programs

(N = 28) have been in existence for one to four years, with 28.8% of the agencies

(N = 30) having employed SROs for five or more years (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: How long have Kentucky law enforcement agencies had SRO Programs?

Duties of the SRO

It is apparent that the role of an SRO is not consistent across the state. Up until this point the role of an SRO has been primarily defined by the needs and expectations of the school system they work within. Law enforcement agencies were asked to list all duties that applied to their school resource officer’s position. It was reported that over half of all SROs (63.5%; N= 66) perform some type of teaching duty while only 16.3% provide actual security to the school (N = 17). The top ten duties performed by SROs in Kentucky are listed in Figure 4 from most often performed to least often performed.

Figure 4: Top ten duties of SROs

Note: The total will not equal 100% because respondents identified multiple duties.

While some agencies reported that an SRO from their agency is primarily responsible for one school (29.8%; N = 31), the majority of the SROs (66.4%; N = 69) are responsible for more than one location (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Number of schools in which one SRO typically works

Attitudes towards SROs

An important finding in the survey is that although the placement of SROs in school systems is relatively new, more than half (56.8%) of the law enforcement agencies

(N = 176) reported that school officials are receptive to the presence of SROs

(see Figure 6).

Figure 6: What is the attitude of Kentucky school officials towards a SRO Program as perceived by law enforcement?

SRO Funding

Respondents indicated that SRO programs are being funded from a variety of different sources. More than half of the programs (56.7%; N=59) are being funded by the police agency itself, while 26% receive funding from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (OCOPS) (N = 27) and 22.5% receive funding from the local school board (N = 23). Twenty-four percent (N = 24) of the agencies reported either receiving state monies or having other sources of funding (see Figure 7).

Figure 7: How are Kentucky SRO programs funded?

Note: The total will not equal 100% because respondents identified multiple funding sources.

Summary

It is clearly illustrated from this study that the role of School Resource Officers is still developing in Kentucky. The Center for School Safety is working in collaboration with the Department of Criminal Justice Training to create and provide in-service training for SROs. The curriculum will provide them with a strong foundation of knowledge in order to help schools build safe and secure learning environments.