Experts: Adding police officers not necessarily the key to school safety

One idea that appears to be gaining ground, at least in Indiana, is placing more police officers, or school resource officers, in schools.

But some safety experts and educators warn that simply placing armed officers in all schools is not the answer.

“Should we move on to putting more police in schools or arming more folks in buildings?” said Russ Skiba, professor of school psychology at Indiana University and director of the Equity Project. “That’s something (on which) we ought to proceed with caution.”

There are situations, Skiba said, where a police presence at school can be effective. But the officers, he said, must be a part of the overall school environment.

Skiba gave an example of a school in Louisville, Ky., which integrated police officers into the school climate by having them interact and develop relationships with students.