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A School Threat

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A School Threat Preparing preventing and Responding A School Threat Prevention resource guide compiled by: Madison Hall School Threats Prevention Resource Guide School Threats Prevention Resource Guide Table of Contents 1. Introduction. An explanation of the purpose and goals of the School Threat Prevention Resource Guide 2. The School Shooter – A Quick Reference Guide, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. A one page guide with 11 key questions, descriptions of statistics and motivations, and warning signs. March, 2018 Threat Assessment – 11 Key Questions Descriptive Statistics and Motives Concerning Behaviors and Potential Warning Signs 3. Federal Potential School Threats Related Statutes. A summary of federal statutes that may be of use in responding to school threats and violence related scenarios. 4. State of Virginia Potential Charges Applicable to Situations Involving Threats of Targeted Attacks. A summary of state statutes that may be of use in responding to school threats and violence related scenarios. 5. Virginia Code Chapter 8 Mental Commitment as Alternative to Criminal Prosecution of Threats of Targeted Attacks. 6. Victim Advocate Information. A short description of victim advocate duties and points of contact. 7. Virginia Survivors of Homicide Program Fact Sheet. Contact information for survivor support organizations, 2018. 8. Mental Health Consultation and Counseling Resources. A listing of mental health resources, including toll free numbers available anywhere, that may be of use in school threat scenarios. 9. Mental Health: Know the Warning Signs. A short fact sheet presenting warning signs of a potential mental health condition. 10. Mental Health and Teens: Watch for Danger Signs. A short primer on mental health “red flags” parents should be alert for in teens. 11. Mental Health Facts, Children & Teens. Bulletin board poster with mental health facts and warning signs concerning children and teens. 1 School Threats Prevention Resource Guide 12. Warning Signs of School Violence. Dwyer, Osber and Warger. A short mental health primer on the potential warning signs of school violence. 2002. 13. Active Shooter Attacks, Department of Homeland Security. Fact sheet describing warning signs and response options in an active shooter scenario. 14. Mass Gatherings, Security Awareness, Department of Homeland Security. Fact sheet describing security concerns and responses for mass gatherings and other soft targets. 15. Mass Gatherings, Take Charge of Your Personal Safety! Department of Homeland Security. Bulletin board poster with safety tips and actions. 16. Active Shooter Pocket Card. Preparing for and surviving an active shooter. Department of Homeland Security. 17. Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment. An Operational Guide for Preventing Targeted School Violence. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Secret Service, July 2018. Creating a Comprehensive Targeted Violence Prevention Plan 2 Step 1. Establish a multidisciplinary threat assessment team 3 Step 2. Define concerning and prohibited behaviors 4 Step 3. Create a central reporting mechanism 5 Step 4. Determine the threshold for law enforcement intervention 6 Step 5. Establish assessment procedures 7 Investigative Themes Motives 9 Communications 10 Inappropriate interests 11 Weapons access 11 Stressors 12 Emotional and developmental issues 13 Desperation or despair 13 Violence as an option 14 Concerned others 14 Capacity to carry out attack 15 Planning 15 Consistency 16 Protective factors 16 Step 6. Develop risk management options 17 Step 7 Create and promote safe school climates 19 Step 8. Conduct training for all stakeholders 21 Conclusion 23 Additional Resources for Schools 24 2 School Threats Prevention Resource Guide Threat Assessment 24 School safety and violence prevention 25 Emergency management and response to school violence 26 Creating safe and positive school climates 27 Preventing and intervention of bullying 27 Mental health 27 18. Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks, FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit. A detailed, multi-disciplinary approach for schools, law enforcement and other stakeholders to responding to targeted attack threats. Chapter 1 Awareness: Initial Step Toward Change 3 Violence is gender neutral 3 Diminishing the violent offender 3 These Offenders don’t “snap” –they decide 4 Threat assessment 4 Research 5 Barriers to successful engagement 6 Early recognition of barriers 8 Self awareness 8 Information sharing 9 Violence and mental illness 9 Behavior, not diagnosis 9 Chapter 2 Identification: An Essential Step for Threat Management 11 Low probability/high impact events 11 Bystanders become upstanders 11 Opportunities for identification 13 Reporting and reporting mechanisms 14 Creating a culture of shared responsibility 14 Making a Threat versus posing a threat 15 Intimacy effect 16 Anonymous communicated threats 18 Analysis of threatening communications 18 First Amendment protected speech 19 Chapter 3 Assessment: Analysis for Guiding Management 21 There are no “usual suspects” 21 Data interpretation and weighting 21 Bias 21 Triage versus 360 assessment 23 Pathway to violence 24 The role played by mental illness 25 The “person of concern” 28 3 School Threats Prevention Resource Guide Brittle people 28 Conducting the assessment 29 Threat enhancers 29 Risk factors 29 Warning behaviors 32 Indicators of potential imminence 36 Triggers and stressors 37 Mitigators 37 Level of concern 39 Awareness of scrutiny 40 Targeting 41 Relationship to grievance 41 Relationship to psychosis 42 Family, loved ones, caregivers 42 Information gathering 43 Data sources 45 Relevance 46 Interviews 48 Records 49 Open source 49 Social media and the internet 49 Chapter 4 Management: The Prevention Plan 51 Safety and caretaking 51 Assumption of responsibility 51 Prevention, not prediction 53 Management spectrum options 54 Person of concern 54 Situation 62 Setting 63 Target 64 Zero tolerance policies 64 Caution against becoming the grievance/last straw 64 Mental health is not “the” answer –threat management is the key 65 Implement and reassess 67 Family 67 Threat management is like good parenting 69 Chapter 5 Threat Management Team: The Set Up 70 Why threat management teams work 70 Logistics 70 Multidisciplinary 71 Co-deployment model 71 Team establishment 72 Core and ad hoc membership 72 4 School Threats Prevention Resource Guide New referrals 74 Process 74 Recordkeeping 76 Retiring or transferring a case 78 Competing assessments 79 Becoming and staying informed 79 One team, one goal 80 Setting up a policy 80 Conclusion 82 Appendix A Levels of Concern 84 Appendix B Tripwires and Warning Signs 90 Appendix C Threat Assessment and Management Process 92 Appendix D Tarasoff/Duty to Warn and Duty to Protect 93 Appendix E Glossary of Terms 95 Appendix F References 100 19. Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans. Federal Emergency Management Agency. A guide for schools and communities to develop response plans for school shootings and other emergency or hazardous scenarios. 2013. Introduction and Purpose 1 The Planning Process 4 Step 1: Form a Collaborative Planning Team 5 Step 2: Understand the Situation 7 Step 3: Determine Goals and Objectives 12 Step 4: Plan Development (Identifying Courses of Action) 14 Step 5: Plan Preparation, Review, and Approval 16 Step 6: Plan Implementation and Maintenance 20 Plan Content 23 The Basic Plan 23 Functional Annexes Content 28 Threat- and Hazard-Specific Annexes 35 A Closer Look 37 1.) Information Sharing 38 Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) 39 Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) 51 2.) Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S) 52 3.) School Climate and Emergencies 53 4.) Active Shooter Situations 56 List of Tables Table 1: Assessment 9 Table 2: Sample Risk Assessment Worksheet 12 Table 3: Threat and Hazard Types and Examples 36 5 School Threats Prevention Resource Guide List of Figures Figure 1: Steps in the Planning Process 5 Figure 2: Traditional EOP Format 18 20. A Study of the Pre-Attack Behaviors of Active Shooters in the United States Between 2000 and 2013, FBI. A statistical analysis of active shooters. June, 2018. Acknowledgments 4 Introduction 6 Key Findings 7 Methodology 8 Findings Shooter Demographics 9 Planning and Preparation 13 Firearms Acquisition 14 Stressors 15 Mental Health 17 Concerning Behaviors 17 Primary Grievance 21 Targeting 23 Suicide: Ideation and Attempts 24 Concerning Communications 24 Limitations 26 Conclusions 27 Appendices 28 6 School Threats Prevention Resource Guide Introduction: Threats and targeted attacks against schools has increased dramatically since 1970, but when these attacks take place they are heart breaking and strike fear into communities across the nation. However the factors of each individual attack are not all the same but there are a few things that are consistent with almost every attack. A study performed by the Secret service found that these attacks on schools are almost ALWAYS planned, and it was unusual for the attacker to threaten these victims before that attack occurred, also in the majority of cases parents, teachers, and other authoritative figures noticed a change in behavior before the attack that concerned them. Another major similarity is the fact that the vast majority of the attackers were current students with some being former students. If more communities, learning facilities, law enforcement agencies, mental health specialists, among others
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