This paper aims to research the role that the factors of race and socioeconomic status play in the interactions that rural K-12 students have with school resource officers within the education system. This paper will cover an overview of the history of urban and rural school resource officers and school-based crime policies in America. It will examine the differences between police work and training in urban and rural communities. Then, it will assess the impacts of school resource officers and crime-based policies in different American rural regions: schools located in Native American Reservations, Midwestern rural school districts, and American South rural school districts. Finally, this paper will list and analyze several policy recommendations to mitigate harmful and negative interactions between rural students and their school resource officers. Although officers have established a presence in many rural communities and schools, there is a research gap regarding the impacts of school resource officers in rural communities.
Research Project
An Examination of the Impacts of Police Presence in Rural K-12 Schools on Racial and Ethnic Minorities
- Fellow: Kavyasree Chigurupati
- Advisor: Ben Justice