SBLE is associated with higher exclusionary discipline rates, with no detectable improvements to school crime or violence¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r3 · q3
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-20 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Schools with SBLE had higher rates of crime and behavior problems than schools without SBLE, primarily driven by higher exclusionary discipline, with no detectable improvements to school crime or violence. → Fisher 2023

Evidence¶

Fisher 2023¶

Fisher, B. W., Petrosino, A., Persson, H., Guckenburg, S., Fronius, T., Benitez, I., & Earl, K. (2023). School‐based law enforcement strategies to reduce crime, increase perceptions of safety, and improve learning outcomes in primary and secondary schools: A systematic review. Campbell Systematic Reviews, 19, e1360. https://doi.org/10.1002/cl2.1360

q3 · i? · quant-synthesis · r3

The review's plain language summary of its meta-analytic findings states "schools with SBLE had higher rates of crime and behavior problems than schools without SBLE," driven by exclusionary discipline. The abstract reports g = 0.15 (schools) and g = 0.003 (students) for discipline.

"Contrary to what is intended, schools with SBLE had higher rates of crime and behavior problems than schools without SBLE. This was primarily driven by higher rates of exclusionary discipline, with no detectable improvements to school crime or violence."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• School-based law enforcement use is associated with greater crime and behavior problems in studies using schools as the unit of analysis — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Student-level analyses find no statistically significant association between SBLE and crime or behavior outcomes, from only four reports — related
• SBLE shows no beneficial effects on learning outcomes or other analyzed outcomes — related
• Students in schools with SBLE tended to feel safer, but this finding rests on very little data — related
• Common non-curricular policing strategies show no overall effects on measures of school crime or discipline — related
• School-based law enforcement is not associated with statistically significant changes in students' perceptions of safety at school — related
• Schools with school resource officers may have higher rates of exclusionary discipline, including a reported 21 percent increase in incidents — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• SBLE presence is associated with higher levels of school crime and behavior incidents, driven by increased exclusionary discipline, in school-level analyses — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• SBLE presence is unrelated to learning outcomes including achievement, proficiency, and attendance — related
• Student-level analyses likewise show higher exclusionary discipline under SBLE with no differences in other crime and behavior outcomes — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• SBLE shows no statistically significant association with criminal justice contact, violence, substance-related, or weapon-related outcomes — related