Main Points Traum atic Effect of School Shootings 1. School - PDF document

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 Student Threat Assessm ent as a Dewey G. Cornell, Ph. D. • Professor of Education in the Curry Violence Prevention Strategy School of Education at the University of Virginia. Dew ey Cornell, Ph.D. • Director of the UVA Youth Violence Curry School of Education Project University of Virginia • Forensic clinical psychologist, worked with violent offenders 434-924-8929 • Studied youth violence for 30+ years, 200+ publications in Email: youthvio@virginia.edu Website: youthviolence.edschool.virginia.edu psychology and education • Developed threat assessment guidelines for schools in 2001. Main Points Traum atic Effect of School Shootings 1. School violence is a small part of a larger problem of gun violence; schools are safer than almost any other place. 2. Concern about school shootings has generated some counter-productive responses: excessive security and zero tolerance discipline. 3. Threat assessment is a useful strategy to identify students in need of assistance. School shootings are so traum atic that they convince everyone that w e extensive schools are unsafe and require extensive security m easures. Shooting at Stonem an Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida We need both recovery from trauma and a factual analysis of the best way to prevent more shootings. Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 1

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 Annual Gun Toll - 3 3 ,0 0 0 deaths - 6 7 ,0 0 0 injuries 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 total 2 7 5 Shootings per day APA report is available at http:/ / w w w .apa.org/ pubs/ info/ reports/ gun-violence- prevention.aspx Shooting deaths from : National Vital Statistics http:/ / w ebappa.cdc.gov/ sasw eb/ ncipc/ dataRestriction_inj.htm l Shooting injuries from : http:/ / w ebappa.cdc.gov/ sasw eb/ ncipc/ nfirates2 00 1.htm l 5 yrs x 100,000 = For every shooting in a school, 5 0 0 ,0 0 0 there are 1 ,6 0 0 + outside of schools outside of schools I f schools w ere im pregnable, it The real problem is w ould only stop .0 6 % of gun violence, shootings not school violence. Less than 1 tenth of 1 percent Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 2

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 March for Our Lives Homicides of School ‐ Aged Youth 2500 Average of 22 homicides per year in schools 2150 Average of 1,480 homicides outside of schools Homicides outside of school are 67x more likely 1965 2000 1661 1641 1651 1505 1478 1479 1500 1426 1338 1354 1361 1379 1365 1303 1143 1127 1110 1014 1002 1000 500 0 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Sources: Kaplan, Jacob. Uniform Crime Reporting Program Data: Supplementary Homicide Reports, 1976 ‐ 2015. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter ‐ university Youth from across the country spoke out about the gun Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2017 ‐ 06 ‐ 01. https://doi.org/10.3886/E100699V1. Data on 22 homicides per year in schools based on years 1994 ‐ 95 to 2013 ‐ 14 in Zhang, A., Wang, K., Zhang, J., & Oudekerk, B. A. (2017). Indicators of School Crime and Safety: violence they experienced both in and out of school. 2016. NCES 2017 ‐ 064/NCJ 250650. National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2017/2017064.pdf 2005 ‐ 2010 Homicides in 37 States 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 Residence 9847 4455 Street Parking lot/garage 1209 “Any given school 629 Outdoors can expect to Restaurant/bar 533 experience a Restaurants are 10x more dangerous than schools. Store/gas station 492 student hom icide Homes are 200x more about once every Public building/business 288 dangerous than schools. 6 ,0 0 0 years.” Hotel/motel 211 School 49 1 2 5 ,0 0 0 schools ÷ 2 1 deaths/ year Source: FBI National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS) database. Selected locations. 2010 Educational Researcher , Vol. 39 , pp. 27-37 School includes colleges. See Nekvasil & Cornell (2015) Psychology of Violence, 5, 236-245. The Expansion of W hy the Fear of School Zero Tolerance Violence Matters From No Guns to • No Toy Guns 1 . School Suspensions • No Nail clippers 2 . School Fortification • No Plastic utensils • No Finger-pointing • No Jokes • No Drawings • No Rubber band shooting No Accidental violations Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 3

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 Zero Tolerance Suspensions After the New tow n Shootings 6 year old pointed finger and said “pow !” http:/ / w w w .sott.net/ article/ 2 5 55 52 -6 -year-old-suspended- for-pretend-gunshot 3 .3 Million Suspensions Per Year Zero Tolerance Suspensions Fuel the School to Prison Pipeline 9 year old w ith Poem about Sandy 1 2 year old toy gun Hook, “I understand doodler the killings…” http:/ / w w w .nydailynew s.com / new - york/ education/ desk-doodling-toy-gun-incidents-clear-educators- lack-com m on-sense- article- 1 .1 9 4 1 0 5 http:/ / w w w .nydailynew s.com / new s/ national/ california-teen-suspended-new tow n- poem -article- 1 .1 2 3 0 6 5 5 W hy the Fear of School Building Security Measures Violence Matters Bullet-Proof Building Entrances http: / / www.bloomberg.com/ news/ articles/ 2013-11-14/ schools-boosting-security-spending-after-newtown-massacre Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 4

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 Building Security Measures Building Security Measures Security and Police Officers Metal detectors and x-ray screening W e should prevent shootings rather than sim ply prepare for them . (DeAngelis, Brent, & I anni, 2011) Prevention m eans Crisis response is not “to keep som ething from prevention. happening” A crisis occurs w hen prevention has failed. Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 5

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 Prevention m ust start before the gunm an is Photo of Virginia Tech at your door. shooter pointing gun The FBI , Secret Service, and Dept of Education recom m ended a threat assessm ent approach W hat is Threat Assessm ent? nearly 2 0 years ago. Threat assessm ent is a problem - solving approach to violence prevention that involves assessm ent and intervention w ith students w ho have threatened violence in som e w ay. Threat Assessm ent Threat Assessm ent is a violence prevention strategy. 1. Identification of threats made by students. 1. Family members, friends, or others seek 2. Evaluation of seriousness of threat and help when concerned about someone in danger it poses to others, recognizing that distress or who is threatening violence. all threats are not the same (e.g., toy guns 2. The threat assessment team evaluates the are not dangerous) . seriousness of the threat. 3. Intervention to reduce risk of violence. 3. The team initiates assistance to address the 4. Follow-up to assess intervention results. underlying problem, conflict or need. In the most serious cases, protective action is taken. Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 6

Student Threat Assessment AERA 2018 Accurate Threat Assessm ent • Developed and field- Avoids 2 Errors … tested in Virginia in 2 0 0 1 1 . Over-reaction • Now used in thousands of schools nationw ide • Controlled studies earned recognition as an evidence-based practice • Legally defensible standard of practice Accurate Threat Assessm ent Transient Substantive Avoids 2 Errors … Continuum of Threats 2 . Under-Reaction • Warning of impending violence • Attempts to intimidate or frighten • Thrill of causing a disruption • Attention-seeking, boasting • Fleeting expressions of anger • Jokes • Figures of speech Key Point Key Point Threat assessm ent is not designed I n a threat assessm ent, w e try to determ ine w hy a student m ade a to determ ine w hether a student threat, and therefore how w e can has MADE a threat, but w hether a prevent the threat from being carried student POSES a threat. out. Dewey Cornell, Ph.D. 7