Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Criminal Justice

Advisor

Mary Brown

Abstract

School Resource Officers (SROs) are an essential element in school safety and an even more critical component in the field of community-orientated policing. While numerous research studies have examined SROs from many different lenses, none have examined the impact that SROs have on school safety through a parents' lens. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine parents’ perceptions on the impact that SROs have on school safety through an online survey accessible to parents through SurveyMonkey. The research question's goal was to answer two fundamental questions, to examine the degree that parents support the presence of SROs in Seminole County Schools K-12, and parents’ perceptions of school safety due to the presence of an SRO in Seminole County Schools K-12. The survey yielded enough results to satisfy the power analysis. However, in the end, upon review of the univariate and bivariate outcomes, it was evident that there was insufficient variability and a lack of significance to move forward with a multivariate analysis. Despite setbacks due to COVID-19, mainly low response rates, the survey still gathered valuable data that did show favorable support from parents who supported SROs in their child's public school. The findings have implications for positive social change by suggesting that parents in Seminole County Public Schools in Florida do support their local law enforcement officers conducting SRO duties in their child’s school on a daily basis.

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