Nearly half (49%) of public schools in the United States have School Resource Officer (SRO) on campus. The primary basic training course, taken in the first year on the job and (NASRO), is 40 hours and focuses on their role as law enforcement officers in a school, de-escalation tactics and some information on mentoring students.
But while they have many opportunities for supplementary training, the majority of it focused on handling an active shooter, most SROs never experience an active shooter during their careers.
School homicides that involve multiple victims have become , but they are still extremely rare, accounting for less than 2% of all youth homicides in the U.S.
Virtual Reality Training
The Samarcand Training Academy nestled in rural Moore County, North Carolina, formerly a , is now a law enforcement training facility. Parole, probation and corrections officers across the state come to this facility to train.
Some SROs also come to Samarcand for a special type of training.
SROs train using a special software called that uses virtual reality technology to simulate intense situations an SRO might face in a school, including active shooter situations or a student who is trying to harm themselves. The software superimposes a school shooter, played by an actor, into footage from the SRO鈥檚 school. The SRO then uses a laser gun to point and shoot at the virtual gunman.
VirTra Training Promotional Video
Jerico Lowery is an SRO for Pinecrest High School in Moore County, North Carolina.
Before Lowery became an SRO, he worked as a detective in the Moore County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and experienced a shootout during his tenure.
鈥淭he first time I stepped on [to the stage] 鈥� the first scenario, the floor does vibrate if there are explosions, gunshots,鈥� Lowery said. 鈥淭he noise helps you and it takes me back because I鈥檝e had that experience of being in the shootouts and having to do stuff like that. 鈥�
To make the simulation even more visceral, officers can attach a little pack to their body that delivers an electrical shock if the virtual gunman shoots the training officer.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 called a threat fire,鈥� said Mike Kimbrell, Samarcand鈥檚 range master, who facilitates the VirTra training for SROs. 鈥淪o, if you get shot, you actually feel the sensation of 鈥� a burning sensation.鈥�
School Shootings Remain Rare
Lowery has been an SRO for three years and has done VirTra training multiple times.
He has yet to face a gunman on campus.
released a in early November, which studied targeted school violence, including gun violence. It found that, of the 41 incidents of violence studied from 2008 to 2017, 12% ended with SRO intervention and 22% were stopped by a 鈥渘on-law enforcement adult school staff鈥�, which includes teachers, guidance counselors, assistant principals or sports coaches.
Jerico Lowery is an SRO for Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, North Carolina. Earlier this fall, he trained with VirTra virtual reality software to better prepare himself to handle an active shooter situation.
Adhiti Bandlamudi / WUNC
Most days, Lowery, the SRO in Moore County, deals with more mundane problems. Often that means handling cyberbullying, or talking to students who might be skipping class or who might not have enough money to buy lunch that day.
鈥淚 think two years ago, when it snowed, I was actually out there helping them [shovel] sidewalks and stuff,鈥� Lowery said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 staying busy 鈥� it鈥檚 just building a community and a family in there. I mean, we鈥檙e a school of, like, 2,400 people. So, I mean, there鈥檚 lots of things that can be done.鈥�
An SRO鈥檚 Many Hats
The National Association of School Resource Officers (NASRO) believes is to have them fill three roles in a school: educator, informal counselor or mentor, and law enforcement officer.
Lowery feels he has learned adequate tactical training skills for the law enforcement part of his job. And he says he has gotten some training for the soft skills, but he mostly relies on life experience to inform how he talks to students.
When he was a detective, Lowery learned how to interview children and serve as a crisis negotiator. But training on those skills isn鈥檛 required for most SROs.
According , which looked at 10-year trends in student-to-counselor ratios in U.S. public schools, from the 2004-05 school year to the 2014-15 school year, on average, there鈥檚 one guidance counselor for every 482 students.
That means limited one-on-one time for kids in need. And that sometimes leaves educators and SROs to fill the gap.
Aaron Kupchik is a sociology professor at the University of Delaware and has studied SROs and their effect on a school environment.
鈥淲e put police officers in schools, expecting them to be social workers,鈥� Kupchik said, 鈥渁nd they鈥檙e not trained as social workers.鈥�
In a from the University of Florida, Law Professor Jason Nance found that 鈥渞egular contact with SROs was related to increased odds of referring students to law enforcement for lower-level offenses.鈥� The study also found school and law enforcement officials disciplined students of color than white students for similar offenses.
Kupchik believes most SROs are well-intentioned. But he wonders if they are well-suited to counsel students.
鈥淭heir presence can shape a school鈥檚 social climate and make it slightly less oriented to students鈥� social, academic and emotional needs and slightly more oriented towards law enforcement,鈥� Kupchik said.
Learning To Delegate
Kupchik is not alone in this concern.
Mike Anderson is the Community Development and Training Manager for . He also used to be an SRO. He says part of an SRO鈥檚 job is to delegate problems to people who might be better suited to solve them.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e surrounded by people who have umpteen degrees in this stuff and you don鈥檛,鈥� Anderson said, 鈥渨hy not get that [student] to the resource they need?鈥�
Anderson stresses to his officers that they are law enforcement first, school employees second.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got nothing to do with school policy. We have everything to do with state law and local ordinances,鈥� Anderson said.
But Anderson also believes that SROs need better communication training to more effectively reach the students they are trying to protect.
鈥淲e train law enforcement officers on the hard stuff, and I do think we need to start teaching that communication aspect,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淟ike I said to some of my younger officers, 鈥業鈥檝e talked my way out of more fights than I鈥檝e ever been in a fight.鈥欌��
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