The role of police in public schools: a comparison of principal and police reports of activities in schools

Abstract

This paper describes results from a recent study about the role of law enforcement in schools. Using data from a national mail survey of principals and law enforcement administrators, we compare reports of the types of activities in which police are involved. We found agreement that law-enforcement related activities were the most common type of police involvement in schools, but police also report higher levels of overall participation in schools. We conclude with a discussion of possible explanations for these different perceptions and suggestions for future research to better understand the role of law enforcement in school safety.