SLEPS SRO Survey

Attachment 3: SLEPS SRO Survey

OMB No. 1121-XXXX: Approval Expires XX/XX/XXXX

U.S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics

2019 Survey of Law Enforcement Personnel in Schools (SLEPS) School Resource Officer (SRO) Survey

In correspondence about this survey, please refer to the SRO ID number printed below.

SRO ID:

Password: Agency:

INSTRUCTIONS

• This survey should be completed by the selected sworn law enforcement officer who is assigned to work in any public K–12 school. For the purposes of this survey, we will refer to the officer as an SRO.

• The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as amended (34 U.S.C. § 10132), authorizes this information collection. Although this survey is voluntary, we need your participation to make the results comprehensive, accurate, and timely. We greatly appreciate your assistance.

• If you have any questions about this survey, visit the SLEPS web site at https://bjslecs.org/sleps2019 or contact Dustin Williams at RTI by telephone at (866) 309-4564 or by email at sleps@rti.org.

INFORMED CONSENT

Description and Purpose of the Survey of Law Enforcement Personnel in Schools (SLEPS): SLEPS collects data on law enforcement agencies and school resource officers across the United States. You have been selected from a scientific sample of approximately 4,100 School Resource Officers from across the country.

Financial Considerations: There is no monetary incentive for completing the survey.

Possible Benefits and Risks: There are no direct benefits to you for participating in the survey. The potential exists for loss of privacy, though our procedures are designed to protect and secure your information.

Statement of Consent: I have read the description of this survey provided above and I understand it. I have been informed of the risks and benefits involved, and all my questions have been answered to my satisfaction. Furthermore, I have been assured that any future questions that I may have will also be answered. I freely and voluntarily agree to participate in SLEPS.

By completing this survey, I am indicating my agreement to participate in SLEPS.

BURDEN STATEMENT

Federal agencies may not conduct or sponsor an information collection, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information, unless it displays a current valid OMB Control Number. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate, or any other aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to the Director, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 810 Seventh Street NW, Washington, DC 20531.

SRO CHARACTERISTICS

1. Approximately how many years have you served as a sworn law enforcement officer? Mark only one.

   • Less than 1 year

   • 1–2 years

   • 3–5 years

   • 6–10 years

   • More than 10 years

2. Approximately how many years have you worked as an SRO in your career? Please count the total number of years you’ve worked as an SRO even if you held other positions at times. Mark only one.

   • Less than 1 year

   • 1–2 years

   • 3–5 years

   • 6–10 years

   • More than 10 years

3. Do you currently work as an SRO?

   • Yes

   • No Go to END

4. Approximately how many years have you worked as an SRO at your current assignment? Mark only one.

   • Less than 1 year

   • 1–2 years

   • 3–5 years

   • 6–10 years

   • More than 10 years

5. Is your assignment as an SRO a single permanent assignment (i.e., you only serve as an SRO) or do you rotate to other assignments (e.g., juvenile detective, routine patrol)? Mark only one.

   • Single permanent assignment

   • Rotate to other assignments

6. Are you currently certified by a national or state SRO association? Mark all that apply.

Yes – national association (i.e., National Association of School Resource Officers)

Yes – state association

No

7. For what part of the year are you currently assigned as an SRO? Mark only one.

   • During part of the school year

   • During the full traditional school year

   • Year-round

8. To how many schools are you currently assigned as an SRO? Please do not include schools where you might be called in to help, but are not part of your official assignment.

   • One

   • Two

   • Three

   • Four

   • Five or more

9. What is your age?

• 18-24 years old

• 25-34 years old

• 35-49 years old

• 50-65 years old

• 66 years old or older

10. What is your sex?

    • Male

    • Female

11. Are you Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino?

    • Yes

    • No

12. Please choose one or more races that you consider yourself to be:

White

Black or African American

American Indian or Alaska Native

Asian

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

Other (Please specify):___________________________________

SRO TRAINING

The next set of questions is about your training on law enforcement, prevention and planning, and social and behavioral topics.

13. At any point during your career, have you received any training on any of the following law enforcement topics?

Law enforcement activity/topic:	Yes	No
a. De-escalation strategies and techniques		
b. Gangs		
c. Procedures for handling juvenile offenders		
d. Responding to incidents in the classroom		
e. Social media monitoring		
f. Use of deadly force		
g. Use of less-lethal force		

14. At any point during your career, have you received any training on any of the following prevention and planning topics?

    Prevention and planning topic/activity:	Yes	No
    a. Administering special safety programs (e.g., drugs, legal issues, crime awareness, and distracted driving)		
    b. Bullying deterrence		
    c. Crisis preparedness planning		
    d. Security audits/assessments of school campuses		
    e. Substance abuse recognition		
    f. Truancy intervention		

15. At any point during your career, have you received any training on any of the following social and behavioral topics?

Social and behavioral topic:	Yes	No
a. Child/adolescent psychology/development		
b. Conflict resolution		
c. Cultural sensitivity and/or cultural competency		
d. Mental health issues		
e. Mentoring staff, students, and/or families		
f. Positive school discipline (e.g., PBIS)		
g. Trauma-informed practices		
h. Working with students with disabilities		

SRO ACTIVITIES

The next set of questions is about activities you performed in the past 30 days as part of your SRO duties. We are interested in law enforcement, mentoring, and teaching activities.

16. As part of your SRO duties, which of the following law enforcement activities did you perform on or around school grounds in the past 30 days? Mark all that apply or mark "None of the above."

Conducted interviews of students in the presence of a parent or guardian

Conducted interviews of students outside the presence of a parent or guardian

Conducted searches

Conducted security audits/assessments of school campuses

Conducted video surveillance/monitoring

Confiscated drugs

Confiscated weapons

Issued criminal citations

Made arrests

Monitored social media

Participated in crisis preparedness planning

Participated on a threat assessment team

Patrolled school facilities

Responded to calls for service on the school campus

Responded to incidents in the classroom

Other (please specify):

None of the above

17. As part of your SRO duties, which of the following mentoring activities did you perform on or around school grounds in the past 30 days? Mark all that apply or mark "None of the above."

Advised school staff, students, or families (one-on-one, in a group, etc.)

Coached athletic programs

Field trip chaperone

Participated in positive school discipline (e.g., PBIS)

Supervised/coordinated non-athletic extracurricular activities

Truancy intervention

Other (please specify):

None of the above

18. As part of your SRO duties, which of the following teaching activities did you perform on or around school grounds in the past 30 days? Mark all that apply or mark "None of the above."

Administering special safety programs (e.g., drugs, legal issues, crime awareness, and distracted driving)

Conflict resolution

Faculty/staff in-service presentations

Parent organization presentations

Other (please specify):

None of the above

19. Approximately what percentage of your duty time was spent on the following in-school activities over the past 30 days? If you do not perform an activity, enter “0”. The total of all activities should be 100%.

Activity:	Percentage (out of 100)
a. Conducting law enforcement activities
b. Conducting mentoring activities with students/staff/families
c. Conducting teaching activities
d. Completing administrative functions/paperwork related to the above activities
e. Other (please specify):
Total	100%

20. During the past 12 months, have you arrested any student(s) for the following offenses?

    Offense:	Yes	No
    a. Assault on school staff/faculty/security/SROs		
    b. Disorderly conduct		
    c. Drug distribution		
    d. Drug possession		
    e. Electronic/social media crimes (e.g., cyberbullying, sexting)		
    f. Failure to obey a police officer		
    g. Fighting		
    h. Theft		
    i. Threats against faculty		
    j. Threats against school facility		
    k. Threats against students		
    l. Weapon possession		
    m. Weapon use		
    n. Other (please specify):		

21. If you are in a situation where you arrest a student, what role does the school administration play in your arrest decision? Mark only one.

    • No impact, as arrest determination is made solely by myself or other sworn personnel

    • Memorandum of understanding or other agreement specifies situations where the school can have influence over my arrest decisions

    • School administration reviews all arrest-eligible incidents and can provide input regarding my arrest decision

    • SROs do not have arrest powers in my assigned school

    • Other (please specify): __________________________

22. Do you speak any language other than English?

    • Yes (Please specify):

    • No Go to Question 24

23. Is this other language useful when interacting with students in the school to which you are assigned?

    • Yes

    • No

PRIMARILY ASSIGNED SCHOOL CHARACTERISTICS

The next set of questions focuses on the school to which you are primarily assigned. If you are assigned to more than one school, please answer based on the school where you spend most of your time. If your time is split evenly between 2 or more schools, please answer based on the school you worked in most recently.

24. Which type of school do you primarily serve in your current assignment as an SRO? Mark only one.

    • Elementary school (lowest grade is not higher than grade 3 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 8)

    • Middle school (lowest grade is not lower than grade 4 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 9)

    • High school (lowest grade is not lower than grade 9 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 12)

    • Combined school (e.g., K–8, K–12)

25. On average, how many hours per week do you work at this school?

26. Are there known gangs at the school to which you are primarily assigned?

    • Yes

    • No

    • Don’t know

27. Not counting yourself, how many SROs share your shift at the school to which you are primarily assigned?

28. Do you usually carry any of the following equipment in the school to which you are primarily assigned?

    Item:	Yes	No
    a. Firearm		
    b. Baton/nightstick		
    c. Conducted energy device (e.g., Taser)		
    d. OC Spray/foam		
    e. Other (please specify): ____________________________________		

29. Other than SROs, what security measures are in place at the school to which you are primarily assigned? Mark all that apply or mark "None of the above."

Closed campus (students not allowed to leave during school hours without permission)

Controlled access to school buildings during school hours (e.g., locked or monitored doors)

Controlled access to school grounds during school hours (e.g., locked or monitored gates)

Metal detectors

Random sweeps for contraband (e.g., drugs or weapons), including dog sniffs

School-issued student IDs

School security guards, nonsworn

Security camera(s) to monitor school buildings and/or grounds

Structured anonymous threat reporting system (e.g., online submission, text messaging, or telephone hotline)

Student dress code/uniform

Other security measures not listed (please specify):

None of the above

30. We would like to obtain information about the school to which you are primarily assigned by linking to data that have been collected about that school in other surveys. In order to access information about the school, we will need to know the name of the school. If you are assigned to more than one school, please answer based on the school where you spend most of your time. If your time is split evenly between 2 or more schools, please answer based on the school you worked in most recently.

We will only use the name of the school to access information collected from other surveys about its characteristics (e.g., the size and composition of the student population) and will not release your data to any agency or individual who is not directly involved with our research. The Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) will use this information for research purposes only.

What is the name and location of the school to which you are primarily assigned?

School Name

City

State

31. How long have you been working in that school?

    • Less than 1 year

    • 1–2 years

    • 3–5 years

    • 6–10 years

    • More than 10 years

END

Thank You!

Thank you for participating in this survey. If you have any questions about this survey, please contact Dustin Williams at RTI by telephone at (866) 309-4564 or by email at sleps@rti.org.

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