Police officers assigned to schools are called SROs, School Resource Officers. The 2013 Congressional Research Service report says SROs enforce laws on campus and act as a “problem-solver and liaison” to prevent local crime and teach students to avoid becoming crime victims (Botelho and Ellis ). Recently there has been controversy over whether it is appropriate for SROs to be in the classroom setting. SROs are needed in schools to protect students and make schools a safe place. By enforcing the law on campus they ensure that school is a safe environment for all students. The SRO deals with anything that is against the law that could occur on campus. Some major issues that these officers deal with on campus are weapons threats, such as gun
…show more content…
They can teach students the importance of respecting the law and those in authority, but also show police officers are not people to fear. It gives an example of what the profession of a police officer entails and that they are humans just like everyone else. An SRO can be an important link between students and the sheriff or police department. Imagine if a high school student accidently hit another person’s car in the school parking lot. By speaking to an SRO they would be able to know how to report it and the officer would to help them. Students can also speak to officers about threats they may have heard or if they have questions concerning the law. SROs have the ability and opportunity to inform and teach students about the law, and thus produce law abiding citizens. By forming relationships with students it improves their education by showing them a profession and instilling respect for authority and the law by putting a face behind the …show more content…
From the video you could see that he was treating her harshly, using physical force to remove her from her desk and throw her to the ground (Brown). The video prompted widespread discussion on whether it was appropriate for police officers to be in a classroom if it resulted in such physical force used against students. The argument made is that SROs should not be in schools because of incidents such as this one. I agree that this situation was handled incorrectly. The video showed a brutality used on a young student that may not have been necessary. However, this does not mean we should no longer have SROs in classrooms. The job of an SRO is to enforce the law, this does not mean enforcing school policies such as cell phone use or obeying teachers (Perez-Pena, Hauser and Sheryl). When a teacher calls an SRO into their classroom to discipline a student the SRO is going to take law enforcement action as they are trained (Perez-Pena, Hauser and Sheryl). The teacher must discipline the student in their own classroom on issues that don’t deal with the law, it is not an SRO’s job to tell a student to stop using their cell phone or listen to the teacher. They are simply not trained on how to discipline students in this aspect as can be seen by the video. SROs are still members of the police force and therefore trained to arrest criminals violating the law, not students being
They can teach students the importance of respecting the law and those in authority, but also show police officers are not people to fear. It gives an example of what the profession of a police officer entails and that they are humans just like everyone else. An SRO can be an important link between students and the sheriff or police department. Imagine if a high school student accidently hit another person’s car in the school parking lot. By speaking to an SRO they would be able to know how to report it and the officer would to help them. Students can also speak to officers about threats they may have heard or if they have questions concerning the law. SROs have the ability and opportunity to inform and teach students about the law, and thus produce law abiding citizens. By forming relationships with students it improves their education by showing them a profession and instilling respect for authority and the law by putting a face behind the …show more content…
From the video you could see that he was treating her harshly, using physical force to remove her from her desk and throw her to the ground (Brown). The video prompted widespread discussion on whether it was appropriate for police officers to be in a classroom if it resulted in such physical force used against students. The argument made is that SROs should not be in schools because of incidents such as this one. I agree that this situation was handled incorrectly. The video showed a brutality used on a young student that may not have been necessary. However, this does not mean we should no longer have SROs in classrooms. The job of an SRO is to enforce the law, this does not mean enforcing school policies such as cell phone use or obeying teachers (Perez-Pena, Hauser and Sheryl). When a teacher calls an SRO into their classroom to discipline a student the SRO is going to take law enforcement action as they are trained (Perez-Pena, Hauser and Sheryl). The teacher must discipline the student in their own classroom on issues that don’t deal with the law, it is not an SRO’s job to tell a student to stop using their cell phone or listen to the teacher. They are simply not trained on how to discipline students in this aspect as can be seen by the video. SROs are still members of the police force and therefore trained to arrest criminals violating the law, not students being