Monday, August 6, 2018

Are you trying to prevent student violence?

We see two common responses to school violence.

1. Crisis Response and
2. Prevention

Tragically, with all the school shootings, schools must be prepared to respond to a crisis. Effecitive crisis response can help to minimize the killings. Unfortunately, in many cases, the shooter has left the building by the time law enforcement arrives, as in the case of the shooting in Parkland, Florida and many others.

Even if an armed shooter arrives on campus and doesn't shoot anyone, there are already casualties. The first casualty is the armed shooter himself. Typically a student, his young life is already ruined by merely showing up as a shooter. The other casualty is the loss of the feeling of security and safety that was once felt by students, parents and the community.

Schools must attend to crisis response but we recommend giving serious attention to prevention. Because, in most cases, school shootings are preventable.

How can school violence be prevented? The Secret Service and FBI recommend prevention based on the following observations.

• School shooters don't just "snap"
• School shootings are typically planned, prepared and rehearsed over days, weeks, months or longer
• During the planning and preparation period, potential school shooters almost always tell others about their plans
• At any time during the planning and preparation period, the potential shooter can be turned around 

The last bullet is the key, that potential shooters can be turned around and not become actual shooters. 

How many lives are saved if a potential shooter can be turned around? How much more secure do students, staff and the community feel if the plans and preparations never materialize?

Edclick's School Safety Manager helps schools identify students who might pose a threat of violence and helps administrators, counselors and other professionals to monitor the success and progress of interventions to reduce and eliminate the threat.

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Keywords: School Safety Manager, prevention, school violence