ISAC Releases Study of School Resource Officers in Idaho

The Idaho Statistical Analysis Center (ISAC) is pleased to announce the release of its report on school resource officers (SROs) in Idaho. The study was requested by the Idaho SRO Working Group and funded by a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics. The report, School Resource Officers in Idaho, contains information on the prevalence of SROs in Idaho, the nature of crime occurring on K-12 school grounds, the major roles and responsibilities of SROs, and whether school administrators’ and school board members’ perceptions of those roles and responsibilities match what SROs tell us they are and should be doing on campus.

Some highlights from the report:

• Statewide, just over 2% of all criminal offenses in 2023 were committed on the campus of an elementary/secondary school. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of those offenses were simple assaults (24%), drug/narcotic violations (24%) or drug equipment violations (15%). Offenders committing offenses on campus were mostly juveniles (90%) and male (67%).
• In 2023, there were about 191 SRO positions across 77 (67%) of Idaho’s school districts. Districts with an SRO program accounted for about 92% of Idaho’s public school enrollment that year, meaning that larger districts (as determined by enrollment) were more likely to have an SRO program than smaller districts.
• There was a weak positive correlation at the county level between the percentage of offenses that occurred on school grounds and the number of SROs working in that county. Counties with a higher number of SROs also had a higher percentage of total criminal offenses that occurred on school grounds. It is unclear from this data why that correlation exists, and more research is needed to establish whether there is a causal link between SRO presence and the prevalence of crime on campus.
• On average, SROs reported spending more time in a law enforcement role and less time in teaching a role than school administrators and school board members thought they should. ISAC recommends SROs and administrators work together to increase SROs’ time spent in the teaching role. SROs reported spending about the same amount of time in a mentoring role as administrators and board members said they should.
• More than 90% of school administrators and school board members agreed that SROs improve school safety, prevent and/or reduce crime on campus, and build and/or improve relationships between law enforcement and youth. However, challenges noted by survey respondents included a lack of resources (primarily funding) to support SRO programs, balancing core SRO duties with other needs of law enforcement agencies and schools, and a lack of uniformity around the state regarding SRO qualifications, training, and SRO roles/responsibilities on campus. ISAC recommends considering the establishment of a state-level SRO program similar to Utah’s, which was created by the Utah Legislature in 2024.

The full report is available in the ISAC Publication Library.

The Idaho Statistical Analysis Center (ISAC) is located within the Pass-Through Grants & Research Department of the Idaho State Police. The mission of ISAC is to disseminate research, data and statistics related to crime, illegal drugs, victim services, and the administration of justice in Idaho. To learn more about ISAC, or to access other data dashboards and publications, visit our website at https://isp.idaho.gov/pgr/isac/.

Posted in Research Publications (PGR)