THE FINAL REPORT
AND FINDINGS OF THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE:
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PREVENTION OF SCHOOL ATTACKS IN
THE UNITED STATES
United States
Secret Service
and
United States Department
of Education
by
Bryan Vossekuil
Director
National Violence Prevention and Study Center
Robert
A. Fein, Ph.D.
Director
National Violence Prevention and Study Center
Marisa Reddy,
Ph.D.
Chief Research Psychologist and Research Coordinator
National Threat Assessment Center
U.S. Secret Service
Randy Borum, Psy.D.
Associate Professor
University of South Florida
William Modzeleski
Director
Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program
U.S. Department of Education
Washington,
D.C.
May 2002
CONTENTS
JOINT MESSAGE FROM
THE SECRETARY, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND THE DIRECTOR, U.S. SECRET
SERVICE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION: THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE
The Safe School Initiative
Defining “Targeted”
School Violence
The Secret Service Threat
Assessment Approach
The Prevalence of Violence
in American Schools
Methodology
The Study Population
Sources of Information
on Incidents of Targeted School Violence
Analysis of Responses
to the Coded Study Questions
Organization of the Final
Report
Overview of Safe
School Initiative Findings
CHAPTER II: CHARACTERISTICS
OF INCIDENTS OF TARGETED SCHOOL VIOLENCE
Target and Victim Characteristics
CHAPTER III: FINDINGS OF
THE SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE
Characterizing the Attacker
Conceptualizing the Attack
Signaling the Attack
Advancing the Attack
Resolving the Attack
CHAPTER IV: IMPLICATIONS OF SAFE SCHOOL INITIATIVE
FINDINGS FOR THE PREVENTION OF TARGETED SCHOOL VIOLENCE
The Implications of Key Study Findings
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION: THREAT
ASSESSMENT AS A PROMISING STRATEGY FOR PREVENTING SCHOOL VIOLENCE
Threat Assessment and
Targeted School Violence Prevention
APPENDIX A: Incidents of Targeted
School Violence by State
APPENDIX B: Incidents of Targeted
School Violence by Year
APPENDIX C: Resources
May 2002 This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce
it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication
is not necessary, the citation should be: Vossekuil, B., Fein, R., Reddy, M.,
Borum, R., & Modzeleski, W. Final Report and Findings of the Safe School
Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United
States. U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education, Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program and U.S. Secret Service, National
Threat Assessment Center,Washington, D.C., 2002.
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