Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates

• NCJ Number: 195290
• Author(s): Robert A. Fein Ph.D.; Bryan Vosskuil; William S. Pollack Ph.D.; Randy Borum Psy.D; William Modzeleski; Marisa Reddy Ph.D.
• Date Published: May 2002
• Length: 103 pages
• Corporate Author: Gang Intelligence Strategy Committee; U.S. Secret Service, National Threat Assessment Ctr
• Sale Source: Gang Intelligence Strategy Committee; NCJRS Photocopy Services; U.S. Secret Service, National Threat Assessment Ctr
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: Downloaded June 20, 2002; see NCJ-195287 for the Safe School Initative Final Report.

Annotation

This document is a comprehensive guide to school safety threat assessment developed by the Safe Schools Initiative of the United States Department of Education and the United States Secret Service.

Abstract

A companion piece to the final report of the Safe School Initiative of the United States Department of Education and the United States Secret Service, the threat assessment guide reviews certain findings developed from the Initiative’s study of 37 targeted school shootings which occurred between 1974 and 2000. The findings that formed the basis of the threat assessment included evidence that targeted school violence was rarely impulsive, that students who carried out these attacks typically planned the attacks in advance, that this planning behavior was often observable, and that usually other students were aware that the attack was being planned. The purpose of the guide is to provide a document that provides a process for pre-attack identification of threats and a methodology for assessing these threats. Basic principles used by the Secret Service in other types of threat assessments and interventions were applied to the school environment. The guide includes information on how to implement a threat assessment process, how to conduct a threat assessment and how to manage a life-threatening situation. 22 notes, appendix