6. Threat assessment in schools: A guide to managing threatening situations and to creating safe school climates Flashcards
The Safe School Initiative
began with a study of thinking, planning and other pre-attack behavior engaged in by students who carried out school shootings
Safe School initiative Study
reinforced the findings of the Secret Service’s ECSP study concerning the thinking and behaviors of attackers
The threat assessment process described in this Guide
is presented as a n approach to addressing the problem of targeted school violence
Major Components and Task for Creating a Safe/Connected School Climate
- Assessment of the school’s emotional climate
- Emphasis on the importance of listening in schools
- Adoption of a strong, but caring stance against the code of silence
- Prevention of, and intervention in, bullying
- Involvement of all members of the school community in planning, creating, and sustaining a school culture of safety and respect
- Developing of trusting relationships between each student and at least one adult at school
- Creation of mechanisms for developing and sustaining safe school climates
CH 3- Key Findings of the Safe School Initiatives Study of Targeted School Violence
Incidents of targeted violence at school are rarely sudden, impulsive acts.
• Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the attacker’s idea and/or
plan to attack.
• Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to advancing the
attack.
• There is no accurate or useful “profile” of students who engage in targeted
school violence.
• Most attackers engaged in some behavior, prior to the incident, that caused
concern or indicated a need for help.
• Most attackers were known to have difficulty coping with significant losses or
personal failures. Many had considered or attempted suicide.
• Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack.
• Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack.
• In many cases, other students were involved in some capacity.
• Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were
stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention.
Chapter IV - Implementing a School Threat Assessment Process
The primary purpose of a threat assessment is to prevent targeted violence.
Six principles form the foundation of the threat assessment process. These
principles are:
Targeted violence is the end result of an understandable, and oftentimes
discernible, process of thinking and behavior.
• Targeted violence stems from an interaction among the individual, the
situation, the setting, and the target.
• An investigative, skeptical, inquisitive mindset is critical to successful threat
assessment.
• Effective threat assessment is based upon facts rather than on characteristics
or “traits.”
• An “integrated systems approach” should guide threat assessment inquiries and
investigations.
• The central question in a threat assessment inquiry or investigation is whether
a student poses a threat, not whether the student has made a threat.
