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Threat Assessment

Most schools are safe. Although less than one percent of all violent deaths occur on school campuses, no school is immune. The violence that occurs in our communities has found its way inside our nation’s classrooms. To date, the overwhelming majority of school shootings have occurred on K-12 campuses but most recently there have been incidents occurring on college campuses.

The 1998-99 school year served as a dramatic wake up call to the fact that guns do come to school and students will use them to harm others. The April 1999 incident at Columbine High School, the April 2007 incident at Virginia Tech and the February 2008 incident at Northern Illinois University affected school staffs and students deeply, but it should not prevent them from acting to prevent school violence.

The information here is not intended as a comprehensive prevention, intervention and response plan. School violence occurs in a unique context – St. Petersburg College could do everything recommended and still experience violence.

Community college students typically encounter a great deal of stress during their education. While some students cope successfully with the demands of college life, for some, the pressures can become overwhelming and, for them, unmanageable.  Students may perceive faculty and staff members as people who can lend a helping hand or just be good listeners. An expression of interest and concern may be a critical factor in helping a troubled student find appropriate assistance.

Threat Assesment Procedures - Reporting Concerns - Early Warning Signs

Threat Assessment Procedures

St. Petersburg College has adopted threat assessment procedures developed by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service in a collaborative effort to help school and college campuses reduce violence and create safe climates.

Threat assessment forms are available for faculty to download via My SPC.

What is Threat Assessment?

The primary purpose of a threat assessment is to prevent targeted violence. The threat assessment process is centered on an analysis of the facts and evidence of behavior in a given situation. The appraisal of risk in a threat assessment focuses on actions, communications and specific circumstances that might suggest that an individual intends to mount an attack and is engaged in planning or preparing for an event. The central question in a threat assessment inquiry or investigation is whether a student poses a threat, not whether the student has made a threat.

How can I get a copy of the college’s Threat Assessment Policy?

You can access the Board of Trustees Threat Assessment rule by visiting http://www.spcollege.edu/central/BOTrules/R4/4_351.doc.

How can schools create a safe and connected campus climate?

Faculty, administration, other staff and students must listen respectfully to each other. A school with a culture of “two-way listening” will encourage and empower students to have the courage to break the ingrained code of silence.

Who is the proper person at the college to inform about a concern you have regarding the behavior or actions of another student?

You may communicate your concerns to any of your professors or directly to a provost or associate provost. A complete list of the provosts/associate provosts is inside this brochure. Security should be contacted as well.

Reporting concerns of suspicious behavior

Concerns of suspicious behavior by students or employees are to be promptly reported to any of the following individuals or their successor in office. If for any reason you do not wish to report the suspicious behavior to your campus or site representative, you should report it to campus security.

Daytime Hours

If no one can be reached at the numbers listed above, please call College wide Security at (727) 791-2560.

If danger is imminent, call 911.

Evening Hours

For all sites, contact College wide Security at 727-791-2560. The evening administrator-in-charge or security office will promptly report any suspicious behavior received in the evening hours to appropriate campus administrators.

Early Warning Signs

It is not always possible to predict behavior that will lead to violence. However, educators and sometimes students can recognize certain early warning signs. In some situations, and for some students, different combinations of events, behaviors and emotions may lead to aggressive rage or violent behavior toward themselves or others. A good rule of thumb is to assume that these warning signs, especially when they are presented in combination, indicate a need for further analysis (threat assessment) to determine an appropriate intervention. However, research has shown that when students have a positive, meaningful connection with another person – whether it is at home, in school or in the community – the potential for violence is significantly reduced.

The National School Safety Center in Westlake Village, Calif., offers the following checklist derived from tracking school-associated violent deaths in the United States. After studying the common characteristics of students who have caused such deaths, NSSC identified the following behaviors that could indicate a student’s potential for harming himself/herself or others.

1. Severe social withdrawal.
2. Excessive feelings of isolation and being alone.
3. Excessive feelings of rejection.
4. Being a victim of violence.
5. Feelings of being picked on and persecuted.
6. Expressions of violence in writings and drawings.
7. Poor or deteriorating performance.
8. Uncontrolled anger.
9. Pattern of impulsive, intimidating or bullying behavior.
10. History of disciplinary problems.
11. Prejudicial attitudes and intolerance for differences.
12. Affiliation with gangs.
13. Access to, possession of, or use of firearms, explosives or weapons.
14. Threats of violence when angry.
15. Preference for books or videos with violent themes.
16. Background of substance abuse, including alcohol.
17. Few or no close friends.
18. Often depressed and has significant mood swings.
19. Has threatened or attempted suicide.
20. Displays cruelty to animals.

Circumstances that bring a student to official attention

Some students may bring themselves to the attention of authorities by engaging in communications that cause concern:

• • A student submits a story for an English assignment about a character who shoots other students in a school setting.
• • Students in a video class make a movie about students who bring bombs to school.
• • An administrator receives an e-mail stating, “I’m going to kill everyone in this asylum.”
• • The personal Web page of a student has links to Web pages with information about explosives.

Other students of concern come to the attention of authorities through second or third parties:

• • A school employee or student reports that he/she has overheard a conversation about a gun being brought to the campus.
• • A student reports that he/she has been threatened by another student and has been warned not to tell anyone.
• • A neighbor of a student calls campus authorities to report suspicions that the student is experimenting with bomb-making devices or weapons.

In still other cases, students come to the attention of authorities through anonymous communications:

• • An anonymous call is received through Security to report concerns about the behavior of a student.
• • Receipt of an anonymous call that a bomb will go off on one of the campuses
• • An anonymous letter stating “remember Virginia Tech” warns that "Judgment Day" is coming

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St. Petersburg College
P.O. Box 13489
St. Petersburg FL 33733-3489

(727) 341-4SPC (4772)

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