How do you handle a threat of violence made by a student? What if a teacher reports suspicious behavior, what can you do to evaluate this threat? How do you determine if a threat is legitimate?
The U.S. Secret Service developed the process known as “threat assessment” as a framework for assessing the potential for targeted violence. After the school shooting at Columbine in 1999, the Secret Service partnered with the U.S. Department of Education to better understand school shootings. What came out of this Safe School Initiative was a variation on the Secret Service’s threat assessment process to more appropriately apply to schools and the risks they face.
These six principles that were developed help establish a structure for identify, assessing, and managing individuals who may pose a risk of targeted violence to schools.
Principle 1
“Targeted violence is the end result of an understandable, and oftentimes discernible, process of thinking and behavior.”
School violence is not an instantaneous event. For the most part, the attackers do not just wake up one day and decide to kill. It is a process or a path. There are generally signs along the way.
Principle 2
“Targeted violence stems from an interaction among the individual, the situation, the setting, and the target”
Threat assessment requires a well-rounded investigation. Only talking with the potential attacker is not sufficient. It is critical to look at every angle. This includes, but is not limited to:
- The situation: What are the stressful events that have gone on in this young person’s life, especially those within the past year?
- The setting: What is the environment around the individual? Is it one where peers are saying, directly or indirectly, that violence is not a good answer? Or is it the opposite? Is violence being encouraged, accepted, or even being ignored by the individual’s friends?
- The target: Who is the individual’s target? What person or group? Does the potential attacker perceive that he or she has been wronged?
Principle 3
“An investigative, skeptical, inquisitive mindset is critical to successful threat assessment.”
The mindset of the investigator is critical. They need to be inquisitive, approach the situation with healthy skepticism, apply common sense to question if the facts come together, and follow through to ensure the facts are corroborated. This can be hard to find in one person. Forming a small committee to handle the threat assessment would be a way to make sure the assessment is handled properly.
Principle 4
“Effective threat assessment is based on facts, rather than characteristics or ‘traits.’”
Each threat investigation must be separate from one another. This is a simple principal but difficult to implement. The investigation needs to be based on facts, not stereotypes. For example, there was a student attacker who wore a trench coat and seemed angry. After this incident, people applied that stereotype to then be concerned about any other students with those same characteristics. Letting these stereotypes cloud our judgment can hinder the investigation.
Principle 5
“An ‘integrated systems approach’ should guide threat assessment investigations.”
It is important to look at every piece of the puzzle individually, but also together as the whole picture. In law enforcement this is referred to as the “totality of the circumstances.” A school must work together with networks outside its walls, such as law enforcement, social services, mental health providers, etc. There may be information that can help aid in the investigation of the threat. Unfortunately the pieces are often put together after the violent event has already occurred.
Principle 6
“The central question of a threat assessment is whether a student poses a threat, not whether the student made a threat.”
According to the Safe School Initiative, less than 20 percent of school shooters actually threatened their targets. However, the report also found that in over 80 percent of the situations the shooter communicated their intent and/or plan to someone else before the attack.
These statistics express the need to not base judgments solely on: did the individual directly threaten their target? It is important that the investigation focuses more on the behaviors and communications of the potential attacker. Have they engaged in suspicious behaviors that could indicate a plan to take part in violence? It can be difficult to determine the validity of a threat, but it is essential to properly assess all threats. Educating students, teachers, and staff on recognizing and reporting suspicious behaviors can help.
Click here to view the full report “Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates.”
