The Cross-Section of Empirical Evidence and Personal Experience: A Deeper Look at School Resource Officers Through the Lens of Demarcus A. Jenkins' Research on the Public Opinion of Their Potential Removal From Public Schools

Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter and Anti-Police movements, there were many discussions across the nation about possible changes to law enforcement operations. Among these discussions included specific discussions about what to do about law enforcement officers stationed in schools. These law enforcement officers are known as school resource officers, or SROs. The focus of this thesis is specifically on Portland, Oregon's Portland Public School (PPS) district's decision to sever ties with the Portland Police Bureau, and what may have contributed to that ultimate decision. This is accomplished through an analysis of a research paper written by fellow Criminal Justice researcher, Demarcus A. Jenkins, who researched a similar decision made in the Denver Public School (DPS) district, in Denver, Colorado. Through a vast cross-referencing of public opinion on the potential removal of SROs in the DPS district, findings indicate that arguments made in favor of the removal of SROs were considerably more empirically sound than the arguments made in opposition to the removal of SROs. That, paired with the knowledge that the overwhelming majority of school districts across the nation made no changes, implies that empirical evidence may be limited in its significance when compared to personal experiences with SROs.