Sometimes the mere presence of a weapon can escalate the situation. Quote icon Breaking the schoolyard-to-jail-yard link Weber has spent time researching the effectiveness of school resource officers. She has been told having an armed officer in a school protects students in the case of a live shooter. Research, however, doesn’t support the conclusion these officers are effectively stopping school shootings, she said. University of Maryland researchers found, in a nationwide survey of 270 high school and middle school principals from 2003 to 2008, that schools with resource officers reported more serious crimes, more minor crimes and higher rates for student expulsions than schools without that officer presence.