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Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 233.74c. Among public schools with any sworn law enforcement officers present at school at least once a week, percentage with formalized policies or written documents defining the roles of officers at school, by school level, specific areas for which officers' role is defined, and selected school characteristics: 2015-16
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
School characteristic Among primary schools1 with sworn law enforcement officers present Among secondary schools2 with sworn law enforcement officers present
Percent with any formalized policies or documents defining officers' roles at school3 Among schools with any formalized policies or documents, percent with policies or documents defining officers' role in specific area Percent with any formalized policies or documents defining officers' roles at school3 Among schools with any formalized policies or documents, percent with policies or documents defining officers' role in specific area
Student discipline Use of physical restraints4 Use of firearms Making arrests on school grounds Reporting criminal offenses to a law enforce-ment agency Student discipline Use of physical restraints4 Use of firearms Making arrests on school grounds Reporting criminal offenses to a law enforce-ment agency
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Total 50.9   (3.64) 56.4   (6.01) 38.3   (5.69) 31.7   (5.15) 47.9   (6.00) 52.6   (5.49) 69.6   (1.80) 58.7   (1.83) 48.7   (1.95) 44.8   (2.26) 63.0   (1.77) 71.1   (1.67)
                                                                         
Enrollment size                                                                        
Less than 300   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 42.8   (7.77)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
300 to 499 47.2   (6.65) 53.0   (9.71) 41.3   (9.47) 35.6   (8.52) 53.0   (10.13) 48.1   (9.50) 54.5   (4.39) 43.7   (6.03) 36.8   (5.48) 39.5   (5.72) 56.5   (5.25) 68.9   (5.25)
500 to 999 56.4   (5.02) 62.2   (6.20) 38.4   (6.16) 30.4   (5.95) 46.5   (6.60) 52.4   (6.10) 75.6   (2.25) 59.3   (2.90) 45.4   (3.27) 40.6   (3.47) 60.3   (3.13) 68.3   (2.69)
1,000 or more   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 81.3   (2.11) 62.3   (2.76) 54.1   (2.48) 48.4   (2.64) 67.0   (2.41) 75.0   (2.14)
                                                                         
Locale                                                                        
City 55.0   (6.96)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 75.7   (3.17) 68.7   (3.54) 63.2   (3.73) 53.4   (3.95) 70.9   (3.07) 78.2   (2.71)
Suburban 49.2   (6.62) 57.0   (7.78) 41.0   (7.76) 38.4   (7.79) 54.9   (8.52) 60.8   (7.99) 76.1   (2.11) 56.1   (2.56) 43.5   (2.79) 41.9   (3.23) 59.0   (2.89) 68.1   (2.77)
Town 62.8   (9.99)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 68.8   (4.30) 48.6   (5.05) 36.7   (4.49) 36.3   (4.27) 57.1   (5.09) 62.0   (4.57)
Rural 40.5   (6.94)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 55.8   (4.09) 57.2   (4.22) 46.8   (4.64) 44.2   (4.54) 63.6   (4.37) 73.1   (3.35)
                                                                         
Percent combined enrollment of
      Black, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific
      Islander, and American Indian/
      Alaska Native students, and
      students of Two or more races
                                                                       
Less than 5 percent   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 48.3   (8.55) 45.0   (9.59) 49.6   (10.15) 31.8   (9.38) 61.6   (9.73) 70.9   (9.09)
5 to less than 20 percent 48.2   (5.75)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 58.7   (3.20) 47.1   (3.67) 35.3   (3.22) 37.8   (3.75) 51.4   (4.22) 64.7   (3.05)
20 to less than 50 percent 54.0   (9.30)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 77.7   (2.92) 61.1   (2.78) 49.4   (3.30) 46.7   (3.06) 65.6   (3.28) 73.6   (2.96)
50 percent or more 53.7   (5.69) 55.2   (8.35) 38.3   (8.51) 30.6   (7.73) 51.3   (8.86) 53.9   (8.68) 75.1   (2.72) 64.8   (2.54) 55.3   (3.03) 48.6   (3.19) 67.6   (2.03) 72.7   (2.14)
                                                                         
Percent of students eligible for
      free or reduced-price lunch
                                                                       
0 to 25 percent   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 71.1   (3.14) 53.0   (4.07) 34.2   (3.40) 38.5   (4.61) 53.4   (4.98) 68.3   (3.88)
26 to 50 percent 51.7   (8.33)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 69.9   (2.66) 51.4   (3.73) 41.8   (3.50) 38.2   (3.42) 54.8   (4.23) 64.0   (3.53)
51 to 75 percent 54.9   (7.25) 34.0 ! (11.40) 18.1 ! (8.54) 19.5 ! (8.40) 34.5   (8.84) 40.6   (9.43) 64.3   (3.13) 60.6   (3.38) 51.2   (3.68) 47.4   (3.92) 68.9   (3.10) 73.4   (3.46)
76 to 100 percent 54.1   (6.85)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 74.8   (4.60) 69.1   (3.52) 64.2   (4.09) 53.8   (4.51) 72.7   (3.40) 78.3   (2.80)
                                                                         
Percent of students who are
      Limited English Proficient (LEP)
                                                                       
0 to 5 percent 47.4   (4.38) 55.8   (8.88) 38.3   (7.93) 27.2   (7.51) 41.4   (8.34) 51.1   (7.58) 64.5   (2.08) 57.0   (2.38) 46.6   (2.58) 44.8   (2.77) 62.1   (2.46) 72.4   (2.11)
6 to 20 percent 57.6   (8.21) 48.2   (9.12) 42.3   (9.12) 43.3   (9.02) 48.4   (9.14) 50.9   (8.76) 79.7   (2.74) 60.0   (3.90) 49.3   (3.03) 42.7   (2.64) 63.1   (3.13) 67.7   (3.12)
21 to 100 percent 50.7   (7.14)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 76.4   (4.54) 64.6   (6.75) 58.6   (6.62) 49.9   (6.48) 67.9   (5.80) 72.5   (5.08)
                                                                         
Officers routinely carry or wear
      specific items
                                                                       
Carry a stun gun5 53.4   (4.74) 54.9   (7.14) 39.8   (6.40) 33.2   (6.46) 47.2   (7.53) 58.3   (6.84) 70.7   (2.05) 56.3   (2.32) 47.5   (2.46) 43.4   (2.68) 61.5   (2.29) 69.3   (2.03)
Carry chemical aerosol sprays6 52.0   (4.92) 56.5   (7.18) 40.3   (6.40) 35.9   (6.82) 49.9   (7.30) 56.4   (7.40) 71.8   (2.15) 59.0   (2.14) 50.5   (2.32) 47.6   (2.50) 64.9   (2.27) 71.9   (2.13)
Carry a firearm 52.8   (3.90) 55.7   (6.20) 37.4   (5.71) 34.5   (5.39) 49.5   (6.09) 52.5   (5.84) 70.1   (1.69) 58.3   (1.96) 48.9   (2.03) 46.4   (2.27) 63.3   (1.81) 71.0   (1.72)
Wear a body camera   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 77.8   (3.42) 60.0   (4.28) 48.9   (4.50) 46.6   (5.05) 65.5   (4.09) 70.9   (4.08)
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met (too few cases for a reliable estimate).
1 Primary schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not higher than grade 3 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 8.
2 Secondary schools include both middle and high schools as well as combined schools. Middle schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 4 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 9. High schools are defined as schools in which the lowest grade is not lower than grade 9 and the highest grade is not higher than grade 12. Combined schools have any combination of grades (including K-12) that is not defined specifically as primary, middle, or high school.
3 The questionnaire asked, "did your school or school district have any formalized policies or written documents (e.g., Memorandum of Use, Memorandum of Agreement) that outlined the roles, responsibilities, and expectations of sworn law enforcement officers (including School Resource Officers) at school?"
4 The questionnaire provided the following examples of use of physical restraints: handcuffs, Tasers, Mace, pepper spray, or other physical or chemical restraints.
5 The questionnaire cited a Taser gun as an example of a stun gun.
6 The questionnaire provided the following examples of chemical aerosol sprays: Mace and pepper spray.
NOTE: Sworn law enforcement officers include School Resource Officers as well as other sworn law enforcement officers who are not School Resource Officers. School Resource Officers are sworn law enforcement officers with arrest authority who have specialized training and are assigned to work in collaboration with school organizations. Responses were provided by the principal or the person most knowledgeable about crime and safety issues at the school. "At school" was defined to include activities happening in school buildings, on school grounds, on school buses, and at places that hold school-sponsored events or activities.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015-16 School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS), 2016. (This table was prepared September 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest