Safety on Campus

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Targeted Violence on Campus
Threat Assessment, Response and Prevention
Michael DeValve, Ph.D. Department of Criminal
Justice Fayetteville State University
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Key Questions

• Couldnt we have done more to discover such an
  attack was being planned?
• What could we have done to prevent this?
• What do we do right already that makes the
  likelihood of an attack smaller?
• What more can we do to further diminish the
  likelihood of targeted violence?

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Purpose of Presentation

• Threat assessment
• Response to the threat of attacks
• Prevention of attacks

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Littleton, Colorado

• Columbine High
• Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold
• Killed 15, wounded 24
• Killed selves, shortly after noon

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Virginia Tech

• Cho Seung Hui
• Killed 32, wounded 25

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Bard College at Simons Rock

• Wayne Lo
• Killed 2, injured 4
• Acted on Gods wishes

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University of Arizona

• Robert Flores, Jr.
• Killed three nursing professors
• He was failing out of the program

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Red Lake Reservation H.S.

• Jeff Weise
• Killed nine, self

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Dawson College

• Kimveer Gill
• Killed one, injured 19
• No criminal record

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UNC Wilmington

• Curtis Dixon
• Allegedly beat, raped and strangled
• to death Jessica Faulker

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Context (cont.)

• UNC Task Force on the Safety of the Campus
  Community (12/2004)
• 7/1/2001 6/30/2004
• 250,000 unduplicated individual students
• 1086 crimes, 532 (49) students as suspects
• Simple and aggravated assault most common
• 250 serious crimes exclusive of simple assaults
• 21 offender / students had prior criminal history
  (3.95 of campus crimes with student suspects)
• 13 of 21 did not report their criminal history
  (.0052 of students, 2.44 of all campus crime
  where a student was a suspect, and 1.197 of all
  campus crime).

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• Clery Act (20 USC 1092 (f)) timely warning
  reports since 12/2005
• On Monday, April 2, 2007, an alleged sexual
  assault was reported to the FSU Campus Police.
  The alleged assault occurred on April 1, 2007 at
  approximately 1030 am in one of the residence
  halls on the campus of Fayetteville State
  University.
• At approximately 1130pm on Friday, January 26,
  2007, an alleged Armed Robbery occurred at
  parking lot K on Stadium Drive.
• At approximately 400am an alleged sexual assault
  occurred at Phase I of the University Place
  Apartments on Coley Drive. This location is
  considered to be part of the campus of
  Fayetteville State University.
• An assault was reported to have occurred in the
  universitys student center at approximately 500
  PM, Friday afternoon, October 28, 2005. This
  location is on the campus of Fayetteville State
  University.
• Reported property damage/vandalism, was reported
  to have occurred on the campus of Fayetteville
  State University. The vandalism consisted of
  graffiti being sprayed upon campus buildings
  throughout the university grounds. This incident
  occurred between the hours of 800 PM, Monday
  October 31, 2005, and 600 AM, Tuesday November
  1, 2005.
• An Armed Robbery was reported to have occurred in
  the area of Joyner Hall near Student Center Drive
  at approximately 100 AM, Thursday morning,
  December 5, 2005. This location is on the campus
  of Fayetteville State University.

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Context (cont.)

• FSU Campus Safety Survey
• In the past year
• 93.1 of respondents report not being threatened
  with physical harm on campus.
• 7.8 (n37) reported property/money stolen
• 4.6 (n22) reported property intentionally
  damaged
• 6.1 (n29) reported their student organization
  property was damaged intentionally
• 14 respondents were threatened with physical harm
• 5 respondents experienced physical harm
• 12.4 (n59) saw illegal drugs
• 7.1 (n34) saw an unauthorized weapon

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Context (cont.)

• Key findings
• Male respondents reported doing significantly
  fewer thing to keep themselves safe (F 8.360, p
  .004).
• Respondents who reported being a victim of crime
  on campus also knew about a greater number of
  crimes on campus (F 103.629, p .000).
• Victims and non-victims did not differ in the
  amount of activities undertaken to keep
  themselves safe.

Levenes test for equality of variances was
significant, so results should be interpreted
with caution.
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Definitive Identifiers for Attackers

• Click to add text

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Identifiers (cont.)

• Past dangerousness is best predictor of future
  dangerousness
• BUT
• Past dangerousness a poor predictor.
• No definitive markers of future dangerousness
• Profiles unreliable and often harmful
• Listen to and believe threats, but the primary
  emphasis in threat assessment must be on
  pre-attack behavior.
• Traits are of limited value

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Identifiers (cont.)

• All responses to perceived threats
• Policy
• Decision-making
• MUST be based on reason and empiricism
• Fear and ignorance lead to bad policy
• Civil rights a commodity, zealously to be guarded

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Threat Assessment

• Safe School Initiative
• Secret Service and Department of Education
• Examine potential to adapt Secret Service threat
  assessment investigative process to targeted
  violence in schools
• Begun in 1999
• Study examination of pre-attack behavior of
  students who performed school attacks
• 37 incidents
• December 1974 May 2000

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Threat Assessment (cont.)

• Ten things we know (SSI)
• Incidents are rarely sudden, impulsive
• Often others knew of the attackers idea/plan
• Most attackers did not directly threaten
  target(s)
• No accurate profile

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Threat Assessment (cont.)

• Behavior that caused concern or indicated need
  for help
• Significant losses or personal failures
• Felt bullied or injured
• Access to or use of weapons often family-owned
• Often, other students involved
• Ended by means other than law enforcement

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Response

• Attacks will happen.
• Policies set in place after attacks must be
  reasoned, appropriate, and compassionate, IF ANY
  are to be enacted.
• Be sensitive to risk safety is everyones
  business
• Cornell may not answer his cell or email, but if
  he knew an attack was under way in his building,
  be certain hed want to know.

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Response (cont.)

• Threat Assessment Team
• TA inquiry
• Low barrier to TAT access
• Emphasis on behavior, less on threats, traits
• Variety of sources of concern
• Multiple sources of information
• Safety needs balanced by respect for rights,
  privacy, and transparency of process
• Timelines often short
• If threat exceeds identified threshold, TA
  investigation (law enforcement) initiated

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Response (cont.)

• Data collection for threat inquiry (SS/DOE)
• Motives and goals?
• Inappropriate interest in weapons?
• Communications suggesting attack intent or
  ideation?
• Attack-related behaviors?
• Consistency between story and action?
• Capacity for targeted violence?
• Experiencing hopelessness, desperation, despair?

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Response (cont.)

• Data collection for threat inquiry (cont.)
• Trusting relationship with at least one
  responsible adult?
• Others concerned about students potential for
  violence?
• What circumstances might affect attack
  likelihood?
• Violence as acceptable / desirable / only way to
  problem resolution?

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Prevention
Five things you can do to be safer on campus
(Security on Campus and Johns Hopkins, cf. P.
Romary)

• Be aware Stay alert to your environment, people
  and situation around you.
• Be calm Act calm and confident, even if you are
  not.
• Trust your instincts If something makes you
  uneasy, listen to it.
• Know from whence your help comes Where is the
  nearest emergency phone or populated place?
• Lock up Car, dorm, office, classroom. No
  piggybacking. Safety is everyones business.

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Prevention

• Target-hardening, preparedness, compliance with
  all relevant laws/regulations, and armed response
  all are important, but
• The best weapon against targeted violence is
• Compassion
• Mutual respect among all
• Emotional support
• Few barriers to communication

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Prevention

• In educational settings that support climates of
  safety, adults and students respect each other.
• A safe school environment provides a place for
  open discussion where diversity and differences
  are respected communication is encouraged and
  supported and conflict is managed and mediated
  constructively.
• -Secret Service/Department of Education
• Core Mechanisms
• Mindfulness, deep listening, loving speech and
  action, bearing witness
• The Power of the Present

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A Gate-Crasher's Change of Heart The Guests Were
Enjoying French Wine and Cheese on a Capitol Hill
Patio. When a Gunman Burst In, the Would-Be
Robbery Took an Unusual Turn. By Allison
Klein Washington Post Staff WriterFriday, July
13, 2007 Page B01
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What Now?

• What do we do right already that makes the
  likelihood of an attack smaller?
• Student-centered orientation
• Campus Safety Committee
• Environmental safety analyses
• Campus Safety Survey
• Safety Patrol
• FSU PD
• Center for Personal Development

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What Now? (cont.)

• What more can we do to further diminish the
  likelihood of targeted violence?
• Fully-equipped counseling center
• Threat Assessment Team
• Create a compassionate, effective response policy
  set for crises
• Barrier analysis
• Continue tradition of being student-focused
• Safety is Everyones Business and other
  awareness efforts

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• The decision was yours. Now there is blood on
  your hands that will never wash off.
• -Cho Seung Hui
• I was really hurting. I didnt have anybody to
  talk to. They just didnt care.
• -Student, killed 2 and wounded several with rifle
• There is no way to peace.
• Peace is the way
• -Deepak Chopra