School resource officers typically are officers from the local community’s police department and assigned to a particular school. They help students connect with resources to prevent violence and criminal activity, and they serve as on-campus deterrents to school violence. They are youth advocates who want to see students succeed. Not all school resource officers are employees of the local police department. Sometimes school districts or individual schools employ them. They typically have backgrounds in law enforcement, however.

Police Officer Salary

The average annual salary of a police officer as of May 2010 was $55,620 per year, or $26.74 per hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 10th percentile made up to $31,700 per year, or $15.74 per hour, and the 25th percentile made up to $40,830 per year, or $19.63 per hour. The median salary was $53,540 per year, or $25.74 per hour. The 75th percentile earned up to $69,070 per year, or $33.71 per hour. The 90th percentile earned $83,510 per year, or $40.15 per hour, or more.

Security Officer Salary

Some schools, such as private schools, may hire their own security guards who may perform some school resource officer duties in addition to ensuring school security. The average annual salary of security guards in elementary and secondary schools as of May 2010, according to the BLS, was $30,740 per year, or $14.78 per hour.

Example 1

At the time of publication, a school resource officer position in Hobbs, New Mexico, listed on AllPoliceJobs.us, a website that lists job postings for vacant police jobs across the country, had a salary range of between $21.63 and $24.87 for hiring. The full salary range was between $21.63 and $27.55. After five years on the job, the successful candidate was eligible for a $5,000 bonus.

Example 2

Knowledge Academies, Inc., in Nashville, Tennessee, posted a position for a school resource officer for its charter school that was also active at the time of publication on Post Job Free, a website that posts and distributes job vacancies. The position was part-time and paid between $20 and $30 per hour.