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Law Enforcement Officers in Schools: An Analysis of Ethical Issues

2014; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 33; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/0731129x.2014.982974

1937-5948

Joseph McKenna, Joycelyn M. Pollock,

Legal Issues in Education

AbstractThe use of law enforcement officers in American schools has rapidly expanded since its inception in the 1950s. This growth can in part be attributed to the Safe Schools Act of 1994, the establishment of the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) Office, and tragic events that have occurred in our nation's schools. Law enforcement officers in the school environment traditionally have primary roles of protection and enforcement, although many have ancillary roles of educating and mentoring students. However, the use of police in schools has also been associated with the formalization of student discipline and the criminalization of minor misconduct. Specifically, an increase in the number of officers in schools has mirrored an increase in the number of arrests and citations for relatively minor offenses. We argue that officers' socialization and training create role conflict in that the duty to enforce the law competes with other duties to mentor and nurture students. We present several hypothetical dilemmas and then illustrate how the "right thing to do" is determined by the perceived duties of the school safety officer. We conclude by presenting some modest suggestions on how to address the potential role conflict experienced by law enforcement officers working in schools.Keywords: Law enforcementschoolsrole conflictethics Notes1 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools"; "The Principal's Office First," New York Times, January 4, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/opinion/05mon3.html?_r=02 Meiners, "Ending School-to-Prison Pipeline"; Fowler, "Texas School-to-Prison Pipeline"; Fowler, "School Discipline."3 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools"; 16; Cray and Weiler, "Policy to Practice"; Patterson, "Role of Police Officers"; Cray and Weiler, "Police at School."4 Miller, Hess, and Orthmann, Community Policing, 258.5 Miller, Hess, and Orthmann, Community Policing, 258.6 Patterson, "Role of Police Officers," 84.7 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 16; Cray and Weiler, "Police at School," 160.8 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 16; Patterson, "Role of Police Officers," 84.9 Rosenbaum et al., "Cops in the Classroom"; Miller, Hess, and Orthmann, Community Policing, 258.10 DeJong, "Evaluation of Project DARE"; Rosenbaum et al., "Cops in the Classroom," 6; Sigler and Talley, "Drug Abuse Resistance Education."11 Sigler and Talley, "Drug Abuse Resistance Education," 111.12 DeJong, "Evaluation of Project DARE," 281; Rosenbaum et al., "Cops in the Classroom," 7; Sigler and Talley, "Drug Abuse Resistance Education," 113.13 Lucas, "Parents' Perceptions."14 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 16.15 Na and Gottfredson, "Police Officers in Schools."16 National Education Goals Panel, National Education Goals Report.17 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 16.18 Kim and Geronimo, "Policing in Schools."19 "The Principal's Office First", New York Times, January 4, 2009, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/05/opinion/05mon3.html?_r=020 Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 20–21; Kennedy, "Teachers with a Badge"; McDaniel, "School Resource Officers," 3.21 Officers could select more than one category. See Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 22.22 Officers could select more than one category. See Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 23–24.23 Officers could select more than one category. See Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 24.24 Officers could select more than one category. See Coon and Travis, "Police in Public Schools," 24.25 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 10.26 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 10.27 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 10.28 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 1129 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 1130 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 1131 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 1132 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 1133 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 1134 Robers, Zhang, and Truman, Indicators of School Crime, 16. These numbers are taken from a School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey.35 Fitzpatrick, "Violent Victimization"; Johnson, "Improving the School Environment"; Symons et al., "Bridging Student Health Risks"; Milam, Furr-Holden, and Leaf, "Perceived School and Neighborhood Safety."36 Milam, Furr-Holden, and Leaf, "Perceived School and Neighborhood Safety," 463.37 Johnson, "Improving the School Environment," 463; Bosworth, Ford, and Hernandaz, "School Climate Factors."38 Dohrn, "School, the Child, and the Court"; Kupchik, Homeroom Security; Meiners, "Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline"; Na and Gottfredson, "Police Officers in Schools"; Price, "Status of Police Officers"; Theriot, "School Resource Officers."39 Dohrn, "School, the Child, and the Court"; Kupchik, Homeroom Security; Meiners, "Ending the School-to-Prison Pipeline."40 Skiba et al., Zero Tolerance Policies; Teske, "Zero Tolerance Policies."41 Price, "Status of Police Officers."42 Sara Rimer, "Unruly Students Facing Arrest Not Detention," New York Times, February 4, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/04/us/unruly-students-facing-arrest-not-detention.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm43 Sara Rimer, "Unruly Students Facing Arrest Not Detention," New York Times, February 4, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/04/us/unruly-students-facing-arrest-not-detention.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm44 Noonan and Vavra, CARD Report, 8.45 Noonan and Vavra, CARD Report, 17.46 Noonan and Vavra, CARD Report, 14.47 See Fowler, "Texas School-to-Prison Pipeline"; Kim and Geronimo, "Policing in Schools."48 Sara Rimer, "Unruly Students Facing Arrest Not Detention," New York Times, February 4, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/04/us/unruly-students-facing-arrest-notdetention.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm49 Sara Rimer, "Unruly Students Facing Arrest Not Detention," New York Times, February 4, 2004, http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/04/us/unruly-students-facing-arrest-notdetention.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm50 Fowler, "Texas School-to-Prison Pipeline."51 Fowler, "School Discipline," 17.52 Fowler, "School Discipline," 17.53 Kupchik, Homeroom Security.54 Dohrn, "School, the Child, and the Court"; Meiners, "Ending School-to-Prison Pipeline."55 Meiners, "Ending School-to-Prison Pipeline."56 Na and Gottfredson, "Police Officers in Schools," 641.57 Theriot, "School Resource Officers," 282.58 Theriot, "School Resource Officers," 282.59 Theriot, "School Resource Officers," 282.60 Theriot, "School Resource Officers," 282.61 Price, "Status of Police Officers."62 Dohrn, "School, the Child, and the Court"; Meiners, "Ending School-to-Prison Pipeline"; Theriot, "School Resource Officers."63 For a discussion of these concepts, see Pollock, Dilemmas and Decisions, 117–119.64 James Pinkerton, "Civil Rights Groups Want Taser Ban in Texas Schools," Houston Chronicle, December 5, 2013, http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Civil-rights-groups-want-Taser-ban-in-Texas-5036400.php65 Eliott McLaughlin, "Texas Student Tased by Police Exits Coma, Enters Rehabilitation, Attorney Says," CNN, February 3, 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/us/texas-taser-high-school-student-coma/66 Eliott McLaughlin, "Texas Student Tased by Police Exits Coma, Enters Rehabilitation, Attorney Says," CNN, February 3, 2014, http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/us/texas-taser-high-school-student-coma/67 See Elliott and Pollock, "Ethics in Police Use of Force."68 Texas Penal Code §42.01.69 For instance, the relevant portion of the Texas Penal Code (§22.01) defines assault as an act that "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another, intentionally or knowingly threatens another with imminent bodily injury, or intentionally or knowingly causes physical contact with another when the person knows or should reasonably believe that the other will regard the contact as offensive or provocative."70 Bradshaw, O'Brennan, and Sawyer, "Examining Variation."71 Kozlowski and Warber, "Typology of Retaliation Strategies"; Camodeca and Goossens, "Children's Opinions"; and O'Brennan, Bradshaw, and Sawyer, "Examining Developmental Differences."72 McKenna, Martinez-Prather, and Bowman, "Roles of School-Based Law Enforcement Officers."73 McKenna, Martinez-Prather, and Bowman, "Roles of School-Based Law Enforcement Officers."74 Arguably, such policies are in conflict with the "treat each person as an end" principle of Kant's categorical imperative. See Kant, Groundwork.75 Leo Hohmann, " 'Common Sense' Challenges Zero Tolerance," Marietta Daily Journal, December 31, 2013, http://mdjonline.com/bookmark/24315065. This news article reports that two students were arrested for knives found in their automobiles on school grounds and faced expulsion and felony charges. Neither student had ever been in trouble before. One student had a fishing knife in a tackle box in his trunk and the other student had an EMS knife in his car to cut a seatbelt in case of a car accident because he had recently been in an accident and had trouble extricating himself and had a fear of being trapped in his car again. The reporting of these cases prompted a political movement to change the law and revise school policies regarding zero tolerance.76 Such utilitarian analysis is probably the most clearly accessible ethical analysis for most people. See Bentham, Principles of Morals and Legislation.77 Caldero and Crank, Police Ethics.78 Steve Miletich, "Police Academy 2.0: Less Military Training, More Empathy," Seattle Times, July 13, 2013, http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2021389398_policeacademyxml.html79 Pollock, Dilemmas and Decisions in Criminal Justice, 104–106.