School Resource Officers (SRO) refers to individuals entrusted with the duty of law enforcement, law counseling, and law educating through the act of oath (Kahlenberg, 2003). The job description of an SRO entails security maintenance, as well as safe learning environments through assistance and directions from the school administration. This paper attempts to develop a study participant group that consists of eight male and three female School Resource Officers (SROs). The participants chosen for the study have ages ranging from 27 to 0 years. In addition, the participants are school Resource Officers and have office tenures of at least six years within the middle schools (Kahlenberg, 2003).
Participant recruitment entails the dialogue that occurs between the researcher and the potential research participants just before the consent process is initiated (Kahlenberg, 2003). The researcher starts off the entire process by making relevant identification of participants, followed by targeting and the final participant enlistment, which is often carried out to accomplish the initial stages of developing research study through a study participant group. To develop a group participant study which purpose is to investigate the relevance of the presence of School Resource Officers in minimizing deviant behavior among students in suburban middle schools, the following guidelines were used;
A sample of School Resource Officers (SRO) with different seniority was selected and divided according to their varying levels of experience and seniority. The division resulted in the formation of two large groups (Kahlenberg, 2003). On the one side, there was a group made up of resource officers having 1-3 years of work experience, while the other group was composed of members having a job experience of 4-6 years. Each of the divisions consisted of ten resource officers who shared the most qualifications (Tallent, 2010).
The participants used to conduct the study to determine whether the presence of resource officers plays a vital role in the reduction of deviant behavior in schools where the interview was conducted (Tallent, 2010). The interview was aimed at establishing clarity on the job description of the resource officers with major parts seeking information regarding the past cases handled by the individual officers. The interview also sought to acquire knowledge of how effectively the officers handled initial cases (Kahlenberg, 2003).
Finally, the interview demanded a report on different student behavior in absence of resource officers. School Resource Officers (SRO) having relatively short working experience were excluded from the study since they had limited knowledge of student behavior in those particular suburban schools (Kahlenberg, 2003). Teachers were also excluded from the study since the information obtained from the teachers during the interview might be subject to bias.
Based on the results of the interviews, the School Resource Officers were ranked according to the reference of their effectiveness. 90% of the officers were found to have been effective in reducing deviant behavior among students, both when present among the students and absent from school premises. Most resource officers have an update of current behaviors and trends at all times (Kahlenberg, 2003). This knowledge was vital in facilitating actions that may be taken to curb any deviant plans and activities by the students. The study participant group therefore proves, through the results of the interview conducted, that the School Resource Officers (SRO) have a core role to play in the noble act of curbing deviant behavior among students in the suburban middle schools (Tallent, 2010). Whether present or absent, the relevance of the SROs in the school’s law enforcement procedures is indispensable.
References
Kahlenberg, R. (2003). All together now: Creating middle-class schools through public school choice. Washington: Brookings Inst Press.
Tallent, J. (2010). A Case Study on the Importance of School Resource Officers at an Alternative School Site. Doctoral dissertation, Sonoma State University Press.