| School Safety and Security With an Emphasis on School Violence Prevention |
| 10/10/2005 |
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Acts of School Violence Can Be Prevented
What many school officials do not realize is that School violence is preventable. The reason it is preventable -- the potential perpetrator will always tell you what they are going to do beforehand – all you need to do is learn how to listen! We need to teach school officials how to “listen” so that we stop making the same mistakes over and over again. After the Columbine disaster, much of the focus was on preparation, response and recovery. But we have got to start focusing more of our attention on PREVENTION! The US Secret Service, in a well documented study, interviewed approximately 40 actual school shooters (students) from the late 1970’s through 2000. In every case, these students progressed through an identifiable pattern of behavior prior to the actual shooting, including telling some one what they were going to do! The key is to develop and implement programs that will allow each and every school to -- “listen” – and thereby identify potential school violence perpetrators and intervene before they commit a violent act. School Violence almost always fits the category of Targeted Violence. Targeted Violence occurs in incidents where both the perpetrator and the victim(s) are identified or identifiable prior to the incident. Research indicates that individuals or groups who commit acts of targeted violence go through an understandable and often discernible process of thinking and behavior. In the targeted violence process, the potential perpetrator moves through a series of stages, or phases, that escalate from ideation to planning to preparation to implementation. These stages are identifiable. But, how do you identify them, and what can you do about it? Implementing a Threat Assessment Management Program – Learn How to Listen The US Secret Service also developed a model called the Threat Assessment Management (TAM) Process. This process is really nothing more than an ongoing, intelligence gathering and analysis process. But, to be successful, you need to teach students, faculty, staff, parents and the entire community what to look for, what to report, and who to report it to. In addition, you need to teach the all of your staff how to analyze the information (intelligence) they are receiving, and how to effectively intervene in the targeted violence process prior to the implementation phase – in short, how to prevent school violence. Security is not merely the job of local law enforcement or school resource officers, but the job of all school employees. All employees serve as a conduit of information that when gathered and analyzed can best prevent the next critical incident. The School Violence Policy The TAM Process starts with the creation of a School Violence Policy – if one does not already exist. It may well take the shape and form of something that does not actually say “School Violence Policy” on the cover. But, whatever it’s title, it should address how the students are expected to treat the teachers, how the teachers are expected to treat the students, how the students are expected to treat each other and in short, how all parties are expected to treat each other – including outsiders like parents; visitors; vendors; athletic and school event fans/ observers; etc. This policy should then become the guideline for behavior – specifically what is inappropriate and what is not. The policy should include the procedures to use to report behavior that is out of line (i.e. who reports it, how is it reported and to whom). This procedure becomes the key element of your internal intelligence collection system, and provides you the “ears” you need to have so you can start “listening” for potential school violence issues. Creation of a Threat Assessment Management Team A key to intervention is the establishment of a TAM team. The TAM team should be established on the smallest common denominator as possible – such as building by building, or via geographic proximity, or some other commonality. The team should be made up of a manageable number of individuals (5 to 10, for example). A representative TAM Team might include the following:
Training of Teachers, Students, Staff, and Parents Teachers, students, parents, and all other staff members then need to receive a thorough overview of the School Violence Prevention Policy, and be taught what type of information to collect, how to collect it, why it is important, and who to give it to. Once collected, the TAM team reviews all the intelligence/ information to identify potential problems, and form action steps. These action steps are designed to intervene in the targeted violence process – identify the student, staff member (yes, a staff member -- remember Workplace Violence can be a threat to a school system as well) or whoever may be far enough along the targeted violence continuum that they need help. Intervention Strategies Intervention strategies differ on a student-by-student, case-by- case basis. The best strategies are those where a plan is put in place and carried out. The plan should answer all the typical who, what, when, where, why and how issues. For example, if more information is needed on a particular case, who is going to get it, exactly what information are they hoping to get, where are they to get it (from teachers, friends, family, the student in question), why is the information important, and when does it need to be gathered by? Conclusion School violence is preventable. The key is intelligence gathering and analysis to “listen” for potential problems, followed by the implementation of well thought out intervention strategies. It is not rocket science. Therefore, it is imperative that school systems throughout Ohio, as well as across the country begin implementing School Violence Prevention programs NOW, not after the next major school violence incident reported in the media. Speaking of the next major incident, what do you think the media is going to find out? It is virtually guaranteed that they are going to find out that the person who committed the violent act told someone what they were going to do well in advance of the event – why weren’t the proper authorities in the school system listening?? And, the next phrase you may start to hear is “willful neglect”…..….are you prepared to handle this? The development and implementation of an effective TAM Program can not be accomplished via a cookie cutter, one size fits all approach. All the relevant factors that make up an individual school district (or even the individual school building) must be taken into account. These can range from existing plans and procedures, to existing relationships within the school or community, to local cultural and historic issues, to the local availability of mental health, law enforcement, and other necessary partners. For best results, you should consider working with a partner who has experience in what you are attempting to accomplish. By Randy Van Dyne Published in the October 2005 Issue of Safety Insight, a newsletter published by the Ohio School Board Association. |
