Perceptions of Armed School Police: Exploring Views by Race in 2019 and 2020

• Published date: 01 October 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1177/21533687221140552
• Author: Andrea N. Montes,Cresean Hughes,Kayleigh A. Stanek
• Date: 01 October 2024
• Subject Matter: Articles

Perceptions of Armed School

Police: Exploring Views by

Race in 2019 and 2020

Andrea N. Montes

1

, Cresean Hughes

2

,

and Kayleigh A. Stanek

1

Abstract

The current study uses data from two independent surveys administered through

Academic Prolif‌ic’s online opt-in panel to explore whether there may be racial differ-

ences in views of armed school police. We use two distinct samples and t-tests to

compare views of Black and White individuals in 2019 and 2020, respectively, as

well as views in 2019 and 2020 generally. We then employ regression analyses of

the 2020 survey data to test whether race was associated with views of arme d school

police. Some similarities in views emerged. In 2019, Black and White individuals had

similiar views of whether armed police keep schools safe as well as whether they

were comfortable sending their child to a school with police. However, differences

in views were also found. In 2019 and 2020, mean scores for beliefs of whether

armed police act with students’best interest was lower among Blacks than Whites.

In 2020, the mean score for Blacks was lower that it was for Whites when asked

about whether armed police keep schools safe and whether they would be comfor t-

able sending their child to a school with police. In 2020, Black individuals were less

likely to agree that school police implement their duties in ways that are fair, respect-

ful, and keep students’interests in mind. We conclude by discussing implications for

scholarship and policy about school policing and school safety generally.

Keywords

School police, public opinion, law enforcement, school safety, race

1

School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, Phoenix, USA

2

Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark, USA

Corresponding Author:

Andrea N. Montes, School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University, 411 North

Central Avenue, Suite 600, Phoenix, Arizona 85004, USA.

Email: andrea.montes@asu.edu

Article

Race and Justice

2024, Vol. 14(4) 564-591

© The Author(s) 2022

Article reuse guidelines:

sagepub.com/journals-permissions

DOI: 10.1177/21533687221140552

journals.sagepub.com/home/raj

Introduction

Racialized fears of crime and disorder and the politicization of those phenomena have

often served as the impetus for intensif‌ied tough-on-crime policies and practices in the

American criminal justice system (Beckett & Sasson, 2004). This get-tough approach

has spilled over into the school setting, especially as calls to make schools safer have

intensif‌ied. A prominent and common approach for trying to improve school safety has

been to employ school police. Although this practice of placing police on school

grounds dates back several decades (e.g., Los Angeles Unif‌ied School District,

2018; National Association of School Resource Off‌icers, 2006), school police were

not common until the 1990s and 2000s (see, Kaufman et al., 1998; Musu et al.,

2019). In the contemporary United States, it is estimated that over 70% of middle

and high school students attend a school that has an off‌icer who patrols the school’s

grounds at least part of the time (Musu et al., 2019). Police off‌icers are also employed

at some U.S. elementary schools (see, Lindsay et al., 2018; Viano et al., 2021).

When on school grounds, off‌icers are expected to keep schools safe and to serve as a

law enforcement off‌icer. They are also expected to mentor youth and provide law-

related education classes to the school community (e.g., National Association of

School Resource Off‌icers, 2012). These potential benef‌its—school safety, mentorship,

law-related education—are typical justif‌ications used for adopting this practice.

However, several scholarly studies highlight the risks associated with employing

armed school police. For example, researchers have found that school personnel are

more likely to refer less serious behaviors to law enforcement when there is an

off‌icer on campus, thus contributing to the school-to-prison pipeline (George, 2016;

Hughes et al., 2020; Kupchik, 2010; Mallett, 2016; Na & Gottfredson, 2013). There

is also evidence to suggest that the risks associated with this practice are greater for

minority youth (Crosse et al., 2021; George, 2016; Kupchik & Ward, 2014; Welch

& Payne, 2012).

These potential adverse consequences of using school police gained nationwide

attention in 2020 after George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black individuals

were killed by police. The killing of George Floyd in particular served as the

impetus for nationwide protests against police brutality and the discriminatory treat-

ment of Black individuals by police (McLaughlin, 2020). These events, coupled

with research and anecdotal accounts that suggest Black youth are more likely to be

subjected to practices that create a school-to-prison pipeline, prompted several

school districts to remove off‌icers from their campuses (Balingit et al., 2020). No

study has investigated whether views about school police in 2020 might differ from

views held in previous years, and few studies have examined the public’s perceptions

of school police and whether those views vary by race. Such studies, though, are

important for school districts considering whether to employ school police off‌icers.

The current study responds to these gaps in the literature. Specif‌ically, this study

uses data from two independent surveys to explore how views held in 2019

compare to those held in 2020 generally and by race. It then focuses on 2020 responses

to examine whether race is associated with views about armed school police, as is

Montes et al. 565