Publication Date: 2005-Feb-28
National Assessment of School Resource Officer Programs. Final Project Report. Document Number 209273
Finn, Peter; McDevitt, Jack
There has been a growing interest in placing sworn police officers in schools as SROs to improve school safety. The purpose of the National Assessment was to identify what program "models" have been implemented, how programs have been implemented, and what the programs' possible effects may be. To obtain this information, Abt Associates conducted a nationwide survey of established and relatively new SRO programs and collected implementation data from 19 SRO programs. This report describes the activities the project team conducted for the National Assessment and summarizes the study findings. The report has five sections, which follow the chronology of the project: (1) Mail Survey--a summary of the methodology and findings of the first significant project task; (2) Selection of Study Sites--a review of the site selection criteria and the sites selected; (3) The Site Visits--a description of the preparation for, goals, and conduct of the site visits; (4) Modifications to the Research Methodology--a description of the change from an outcome study to a process evaluation for the large new sites and the reasons for the change; and (5) Data Analysis and Findings--a summary of the methodology and findings of the five other reports prepared under the project. The report concludes with appendices providing protocols and other materials used in the project. Appended are: (1) Principal Materials Examined for the Study; (2) Mail Survey of Law Enforcement Agencies; (3) Mail Survey of School Principals; (4) Site Visit Preparation Protocol; (5) Program Participation Interview Guide; and (6) Survey of Students: Large New Programs. [Appendixes are not included in ERIC version of this report.]
Descriptors: Program Effectiveness, Police, School Safety, Site Selection, Law Enforcement, Formative Evaluation, School Security, Mail Surveys, Program Implementation, Program Design
Authoring Institution: Department of Justice, Washington, DC. National Inst. of Justice.; Abt Associates, Inc., Washington, DC.