The WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center is conducting a systematic review of research on the effects of “school-based law enforcement”—police-led crime prevention programs and strategies at schools.
This Campbell Collaboration-funded review seeks to address the following key questions using rigorous studies across the United States and abroad:
- What are the effects of policing strategies in primary and secondary schools on measures of crime and student misbehavior in and around schools?
- What are the effects of policing strategies in primary and secondary schools on measures of staff or student perceptions of safety?
- What are the effects of policing strategies in primary and secondary schools on learning outcomes?
Researchers are using an evidence-based approach framework, examining prior studies to determine the average effect across separate but similar studies, and how that effect varies across variations in treatment, methods, and outcomes.
The approach to this study is a strategy known as a systematic review. Systematic reviews use explicit methods designed to reduce potential for bias in summarizing separate but similar studies, particularly those focused on answering questions relevant to what works.
This systematic review of impact studies, to be published by the international Campbell Collaboration (C2), builds upon prior work by the research team and others, and will provide the most compelling scientific response to questions regarding the effectiveness of school-based law enforcement strategies.