(2019-1030-F Segment 2) School Resource Officers

The materials in FOIA 2019-1030-F (seg 2) are a selective body of documents responsive to the topic of the FOIA. Researchers should consult the archivist about related material. The placement of police officers in U.S. schools was not always a common occurrence. While in 1975, only 1% of schools reported that police were stationed in their school, by 1997, principals in 22% of all U.S. schools reported having a police officer stationed at the school at least one hour per week or available as needed. By the 2003-2004 school year, principals in 36% of schools reported police stationed in the schools, and by 2007-2008, the percentage had risen to 40%. The causes of this increase in police presence are generally attributed to concerns about the rising rate of juvenile crime, especially of high-profile school shooting events, and increased federal funding for community and youth-centered law enforcement purposes. In the 1994 State of the Union Address, President Clinton pledged funding for an additional 100,000 community police officers to help deter crime, reduce drug use, and prevent youth and gang violence. The Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) was established within the Department of Justice following the passage of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994. Between 1994 and 2001, the COPS Office provided more than $7.6 billion in grants to state and local communities to hire and train police officers to promote community policing as a multifaceted strategy to reduce rates of youth and gang violence, reduce drug rates, and deter crime. Likewise in 1994, President Clinton expanded the Drug-Free Schools Act into the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Act, making violence prevention a key part of this program. The Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program provided support to 97% of the nation’s school districts, developing school violence and drug prevention programs, “safe zones of passage” for students between home and school, and providing professional training for school personnel, parents, law enforcement and community members. In 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice began specifically making grants to increase the number of school resource officers in schools through the COPS in Schools program, resulting by some estimates more than $700 million being granted to districts to hire SROs between 1999 and 2005. This collection contains correspondence and invitations from police officers assigned to schools, scheduling materials, anti-drug program information, and remarks by the President related to police presence in public schools.