Armed and considered capable? Law enforcement officers’ attitudes about armed teacher policies in the USA

Abstract

Active shooter events, including those in K-12 schools in the USA, continue to occur. In an effort to protect students, faculty, and staff, several states have implemented policies allowing teachers to be armed while on school premises, with more expected to follow suit. While recent research surveys the general public, school administrators, and policing executives (from a single state) regarding their perceptions of armed teacher policies, there is a dearth of literature that examines the issue from the law enforcement community’s perspective. The present study utilizes a nationwide survey of law enforcement officers, collected in 2020, that encompass a wide variety of job duties, agency types/sizes, and types of communities served. We find widespread support for armed teacher policies; however, respondents expressed a desire for additional training for teachers to better prepare them to respond to an active shooter event. Additional implications for policymakers and school administrators considering this policy are offered.