Cover Story
Threat Assessment Protecting Students and Schools
Provided by the United States Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center Introduction by Theresa Kelly Gegen
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There is no single profile of a school shooter, nor is there a typical victim. No school type or location is more likely to be targeted. Fear and concern are grave and universal. Motives, behaviors, stressors, and situational factors, however, do guide towards a tragic common ground of individuals who have committed school violence. With the goal of preventing targeted violence and keeping children safe
at school, law enforcement collaborates with the education and wellness communities to study incidents of school violence. Threat assessment is an investigative approach, pioneered by the U.S. Secret Service, for conducting an investigation to assess whether an individual poses a risk of violence or other unwanted outcome, and then taking steps to manage that risk. The threat assessment
model was originally devised for the prevention of violence targeting public officials and public figures. For the past 20 years, the U.S. Secret Service, through its National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), has applied its threat assessment model in other areas of need, including identifying and intervening in potential incidents of school violence. The Safe School Initiative November/December 2020  13
