Police in the Playground: An Investigation of the Impact of the Manukau Police 'Cops in Schools' Programme on Youth Antisocial Behaviour and Perception of Police

Abstract

Over the previous two decades, police officers have become a more prominent presence in schools around the world. While there have been relationships between schools and police for some time, it is only more recently that this has resulted in programmes which see police officers being stationed in schools on a full time basis. Despite the popularity and global proliferation of these programmes, very little research has been undertaken into their effectiveness. With police departments continuing to develop and implement their own programmes, it is important to provide a base from which these can be developed, and an indication of which elements have been found to be effective. In 2008, following concerns regarding youth antisocial behaviour and gang involvement in Manukau City (South Auckland), New Zealand, the Manukau Police developed a programme called “Cops in Schools”. This saw 6 officers working in 12 schools. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of this programme in relation to student antisocial behaviour and perception of police. It was also envisioned that the study would provide a description of the programme from the perspectives of teachers and students, as well as an indication of their perceptions of the effectiveness of the programme. As such, the study utilised a mixed method approach. Three specific approaches were used: a qualitative analysis of student focus group (n=28) and teacher focus group (n=11) data; a quantitative analysis of the perception of police in the study schools in comparison to a control school (n=49); and a quantitative analysis of suspension, stand down, and exclusion/expulsion rates before and after the implementation of the programme. The results of each aspect of the study appeared to be somewhat contradictory. While no statically significant changes were indicated in relation to the quantitative components, both the teacher and student focus groups painted a largely positive impression of the programme. The focus group data also provided a wealth of information about specific aspects of the programme which seemed to have an impact on student and teachers perceptions. The possible explanations of these findings are discussed. The limitations of the current study, as well as future research directions are also outlined.