The Importance of a School Threat Assessment Team

How did we get to the threat assessment protocol?

How Can We Know?

Discussion What do you think of her assertion that her son was suicidal? Do you think the parents are liable for their children’s behavior? Would your personal feelings of fear or anger change your response to a parent/child?

What lessons have been learned?

Columbine High School April 20, 1999 In 47 minutes: Detonated 2 propane bombs to start Detonated several other smaller bombs Killed 10, wounded many others Exchanged gunfire with police attempting to protect EMS who were treating victims Eventually both committed suicide

Columbine After Action Report Recommendations Training for LE in Rapid Deployment Training in Incident Command Structure Police radio transmission repeaters in schools State wide police radio system Advanced planning of large scale emergencies Training in dealing with the media

Columbine After Action Report Recommendations for Schools work to change “code of silence” threats, however vague, must be reported develop an anonymous phone tip line develop a bullying prevention program develop a threat assessment team

2018 NTAC Report In 2000 the Safe Schools Initiative delivered the first recommendations to create threat assessment teams in schools. In 2008, the Bystander Study discovered that before most attacks were carried out, students had information that it was going to happen, but that they did not report it to an adult.

2018 NTAC Report Establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team. variety of disciplines a designated leader clear policy/procedure meet on a regular basis

2018 NTAC Report “Ensuring the safety of our schools involves multiple components, including physical security, emergency management, and violence prevention in efforts in the form of a threat assessment process”. - NTAC, 2018

All of the research suggests that most of these incidents are preventable, because we were warned by the threatening person

Leakage In over 75% of school shooting cases, the attacker told someone else before it. In 50% of cases, the attacker told more than one person. In 25% of cases, the intended victim was told of the impending attack.

Example of Leakage “God I can’t wait till I can kill you people. I’ll just go to some downtown area in some big ass city and blow up and shoot everything I can. Feel no remorse, no sense of shame....I don’t care if I live or die in the shootout, all I want is to kill and injure as many of you pricks as I can...” - Eric Harris, 2000, Littleton, CO

Example of Leakage “I feel like everyone is against me, but no one ever makes fun of me, mainly because they think I’m a psycho. There is one kid above all others that I want to kill. I want nothing more than to put a hole in his head.” - Kip Kinkle, 1998, Springfield, OR

Example of Leakage “I am going to be a professional school shooter.” - Nicholas Cruz

Example of Leakage In 2008, Adam Lanza told another person that he had assault weapons and was planning to kill his mother and children at Sandy Hook Elementary

FBI Active Shooter Incident Report ’16 - ‘17

FBI Active Shooter Incident Report ’16 - ‘17 April 23, 2016, 11:02 pm, Jakob Edward Wagner, 18, began shooting outside prom at Antigo High School, Antigo, WI. Two LEOs were on scene and returned fire, striking Wagner. He later died at the hospital.

FBI Active Shooter Incident Report ’16 - ‘17

What do they tell us?

School Climate Prevention of and intervention in bullying What is you school’s policy on bullying? What is the school’s response to bullying? What tools does LE use to respond to bullying in your community?

The Golden Rule The central question of threat assessment is whether a person poses a threat, not whether they made a threat

Six Principles 1. Targeted violence is the end result of an understandable, and oftentimes discernible, process of thinking and behavior

Six Principles 2. Targeted violence stems from an interaction among the individual, the situation, the setting and the target.

Six Principles 3. An investigative, skeptical, inquisitive mindset is critical to successful threat assessment.

Six Principles 4. Effective threat assessment is based on “facts” rather than “characteristics” or “traits”

Six Principles 5. An integrated systems approach should guide threat assessment inquiries and investigations.

Six Principles 6. The central question in a threat assessment inquiry is not whether the student made a threat but whether they pose a threat.

Zero Tolerance Every child is punished the same way for the same behavior Response to; fighting weapons drugs

Zero Tolerance Fails to be a deterrent for negative behavior Fails to recognize the reasons behind the child’s behavior Fails to meet the needs of the child

Instead, Zero Tolerance should mean.... All threats of violence will be addressed There will be consequences for threats Reaction to threats will be immediate The threat will be treated the same in every instance, not the child.