School Implementation Climate Scale (SICS)
Category: Student Well-Being and Mental Health
This study provides a descriptive analysis of police intervention as a response to student behavior in New York City public schools. We find that between the 2016/17 and 2021/22 academic years, arrests and juvenile referrals decreased while non-detainment-based and psychiatric police interventions increased. However, Black students, especially those enrolled in schools located in predominantly White police precincts experiencing a shrinking White student population, experienced disproportionate rates of arrests, juvenile referrals, and police-involved psychiatric interventions. Schools serving more Black students experienced higher rates of interventions relative to schools with fewer Black students, but these higher rates of intervention are not explained by differences in observable student behavior and characteristics. Instead, differences in teacher characteristics and resources contribute to the excess use of police interventions in predominantly Black schools.
Keywords
police in schools, teachers, racial equity
Education level
Document Object Identifier (DOI)
10.26300/bds3-xc11
