Threat Resources

NEW Blog on Threat Assessment, Violence Prevention, and Safety

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 07:31:00 +0000

We started a new blog on threat assessment, violence prevention, and simple safety strategies. This blog is a product of our new partnership, SIGMA Threat Management Associates (check out our new website!). We will be using our new blog to post the latest on threat assessment, current event analysis, and common sense safety tips. We will post links to these new posts here...and more information can be found on our new Facebook page. Let us know what you think!

Cyberbullying gets Punished

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:41:00 +0000

Kudos for Nevada: A new Nevada law -- which takes effect today -- makes it a crime for students through 12th grade to bully someone through electronic means - including by cellphone texts or email. Most of the enforcement of the law will occur through school discipline, although it gives police and prosecutors in Nevada a new tool to address the problem with stronger penalties beyond school punishment. The law's sponsors, state Senator Valerie Wiener and Assemblywoman Bonnie Parnell, introduced this legislation in part to prevent tragedies like the one of Brandon Myers, a fifth grader in Missouri who committed suicide after being the victim of continual bullying and cyberbullying. Nevada's new law underscores that bullying is NOT "just kids being kids" - and recognizes that even when bullying occurs remotely (e.g., by email or texting), it can have tragic consequences. Nevada lawmakers should be commended for taking a proactive approach to prevent bullying and violence among students.

Back to blogging....finally!

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 05:16:00 +0000

Before getting back to some substantive blogging, I want to apologize for my prolonged absence. As some of you know, I was involved in a political campaign for the past 15 months and barely had enough hours in the day to continue to run my company and handle my current case consultations (which continue to increase....is the still-bad economy to blame for more people threatening?), and then added campaign-related work - including some significant security concerns -- on top of it all. Now that the campaign is over, I am happy to report that I am back to blogging and can also say that I learned quite a lot along the way. I'll share some of that in the next few posts. So thank you for your patience. I look forward to sharing more thoughts on threat assessment and of course to hearing from you.

This Week In Threat Assessment

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 04:01:00 +0000

There have been several threat assessment and targeted violence items in the news this week. In case you missed them, here are some of the highlights:

The FBI and Department of Homeland Security reported this week that to date, more than 30 U.S. governors have received warning or threat letters from an extremist group, telling the governors to step down or they would "be removed." The extremist group, who call themselves the Guardians of the Free Republic, has information posted on its website about its goals and intended course of action, including complaints about the IRS and taxes. The letters have prompted more security at various capitol buildings around the country, including in Nevada's capitol, Carson City. Although the reason for the added security is unfortunate, I am in favor of these capitol buildings enhancing their security. It is something our public officials most certainly deserve - and these days seem to need.

In other news, an associate professor at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania returned to campus and to teaching this week, after having been suspended for posting statements on Facebook about wanting to kill students. The professor, Gloria Gadsden, claimed the statements were intended as jokes and were meant only to amuse her family and friends. She was cleared by a psychologist before being allowed to return to teaching. According to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, several students became angry and stormed out of her classroom when they saw that Gadsden had returned. Gadsden says she regrets ever joining Facebook, as well as the statements she posted.

And in California, a Humboldt County superior court clerk was arrested after she threatened to bring a gun to the courthouse and start shooting people, including Judge Timothy Cissna. The clerk, Shirley Rosa, is 51 and has been on medical leave from her job at the courthouse since October. She allegedly made the threats to a co-worker last week, and was arrested a few hours later without incident.

Trying Kids as Adults?

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:01:00 +0000

I came across an interesting opinion piece on CNN.com today. It provides some compelling arguments on the merits of trying minors in juvenile court rather than adult court, even for serious offenses. This is a tough issue - and certainly can be an emotional one - centered as it often does around the notions of culpability, retribution, and ultimately the possibility for rehabilitation. If we don't think serious juvenile offenders can be rehabilitated, then they might as well be tried and sentenced as adults - or so the argument goes.

One interesting bit of data that my colleagues and I uncovered when we studied school shootings and interviewed school shooters around the US was that many of those who carried out school shootings in the 1970s and 1980s were tried and sentenced as juveniles, whereas most of those who carried out school shootings since the 1990s have been tried and sentenced as adults. There was one school shooter who declined our request to interview him because he served his time as a juvenile and was released at age 21, the records of his case were expunged, and he has since gone on to become a husband, father, and prominent member of his community. I recognize this is only one example - but it certainly underscores the possibility for rehabilitation in at least some cases. The opinion piece by Robert Schwartz, co-founder of the Juvenile Law Center, lays out far more compelling arguments, including the latest findings from child and adolescent brain development that provide strong evidence that juveniles cannot reason the same way adults do. Just some food for thought.

Alabama Shooting: New Developments

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 04:49:00 +0000

If you've blinked in the past few days, you may have missed some of the odd developments and twists in the investigation into Dr. Amy Bishop's rampage shooting at the University of Alabama at Huntsville. For a good overview of the shooting incident, I recommend Scott Jaschik's article in Inside Higher Ed, in Sunday's edition of USAToday. Jaschik provides a great review of the shooting, where Bishop allegedly killed three fellow professors and wounded two others and a staff member, all from the University of Alabama Biology Department where Bishop worked. Although Bishop's motives for opening fire on a staff meeting remain unknown, various colleagues and others have speculated that the shooting might be related to Bishop initially being denied tenure, successfully appealing her case, and then having her appeal overruled by the university's administration.

But wait, there's more. In recent days it has become evident that Bishop had engaged in seriously troubling behavior - and in some cases criminal or potentially criminal behavior - over a period of several years. Since Sunday, several significant details about Amy Bishop's life and examples of her previous concerning behavior have emerged at an impressive rate. An article in today's New York Times provides a good summary of the recent developments, including the following:

In 1986, Bishop (then aged 20) shot and killed her brother, Seth Bishop (then 18) at their family home. The shooting was eventually ruled an accident, although recent news reports suggest differing recollections by those involved in the investigation as to why it was ruled an accident. Today, FoxNews.com went so far as to question whether Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA) may have been involved in getting Bishop released to her parents and the shooting ruled an accident when Delahunt was the local District Attorney and Bishop's mother was on the school board.
In 1993, Bishop and her husband, James Anderson, were both questioned in the investigation into an anonymous pipe bomb that was sent to the home of Dr. Paul Rosenberg, one of Bishop's colleagues at Children's Hospital in Boston. Colleagues recalled that Bishop was worried she was going to get a negative job performance review from Rosenberg. According to a recent interview with James Anderson, he said both he and Bishop were eventually cleared in the investigation.
In 2002, according to today's Associated Press article, Amy Bishop was arrested and charged with assault for punching a woman in an International House of Pancakes (IHOP) restaurant. According to the AP article, Bishop reportedly became irate when she discovered the other woman got the restaurant's last booster seat and repeatedly yelled "I am Dr. Amy Bishop!" Bishop was sentenced to probation for the assault.
An article on abcnews.com reports that in recent interviews with Bishop and Anderson's neighbors, several described Bishop as a woman who often got into "nose-to-nose" confrontations and arguments with neighbors over such benign issues as allowing an ice cream truck to sell ice cream to children in the neighborhood.
And in an interview this weekend, Bishop's husband said that Bishop recently went to a firing range with a handgun that she had borrowed from a friend, although Anderson had forbidden Bishop from keeping the gun in the house. Anderson described Bishop as being "cagey" about exactly where she got the gun.

As with other shooting rampages, the full accounting of the incident is likely months away. Expect more details to emerge in the coming days and weeks.

Professor Held in Campus Rampage Shooting

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 07:48:00 +0000

It happened again today - another rampage shooting on a college campus. But this time it appears to be a female professor who carried out the attack.

The most recent story in The New York Times offers several details of the shooting - which took place at the University of Alabama at Hunstville -- that make this incident sound similar to other campus and workplace shootings. According to the Times article and to the latest update on abcnews.com, the alleged shooter was Dr. Amy Bishop, a biology professor at the University of Alabama at Hunstville. Dr. Bishop had previously been denied tenure, appealed the tenure decision, and learned earlier today that her appeal has also been denied. One colleague noted that Dr. Bishop had recently talked intensely about her grievances about the tenure process.

The most recent news reports list three killed and another three injured in the attack. The three individuals killed were all fellow biology professors, including the chair of the biology department. The three individuals injured included two other biology professors and a professor's assistant in the department. No students were injured or killed.

Since the Virginia Tech attack in April 2007, more and more colleges and universities have developed campus threat assessment teams to identify persons on campus that may pose some harm and to intervene before harm can occur. Yet many of these institutions remain concerned only about threats from students. The shooting at the University of Alabama reminds us that threats can come from campus employees as well as from students - and that colleges and universities are workplaces as well as learning institutions. Fortunately the principles of campus threat assessment can be used just as well to identify and reduce potential harm from faculty and staff, as they can be to address the same concerns from students.

For more information on campus threat assessment, please see The Handbook for Campus Threat Assessment and Management Teams, available on Amazon.com and here.

Dogs Help Struggling Youth

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 06:44:00 +0000

And now for some good news: A program for troubled youth and several animal rescue agencies have teamed up to help each other. Best Friends, the nationally-known animal refuge in Utah, featured an article in their newsletter this week about a program in Chicago that was having a positive impact on "throw-away" teens - kids who had been convicted of some illegal activity and sentenced to a juvenile facility and who had little family involvement while in the residential facility. This program involved these teens with rescue dogs who were up for adoption. The program gradually introduces the teens to the dogs and to basic dog training techniques. The kids enjoyed working with the dogs so much -and the dogs responded to the training so well - that the first round of dogs were all adopted soon after training was over. The program has continued with both general and advanced training available for kids interested in the program. By all accounts, those kids who have participated have benefited too - deriving satisfaction and a sense of self-worth from doing things that helped the dogs get adopted, and from simply bonding with the dogs as well. Amid all the rampage shooting stories in the first few weeks of 2010, this story is a welcome change.

Threats to Judges - A Nationwide Review

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:58:00 +0000

In the wake of this week's shooting at a federal courthouse in Las Vegas, the U.S. Marshals Service - which is responsible in part for protection of federal judges and courts - will conduct a nationwide review of courthouse security. The review is timely - not only because of this week's courthouse shooting -- but because the U.S. Department of Justice just released a report showing that the number of threats to federal judges and prosecutors have more than doubled in the past six years. The report also concluded that there were a number of deficiencies in the way the U.S. Marshals Service currently handles threats to judges and prosecutors.

It was only a few years ago that the U.S. Marshals Service was advised by the U.S. Department of Justice to stop using an automated software program to evaluate threats to judges and instead to develop and implement a behavioral threat assessment process. Given the rise in threats to federal judges and prosecutors, it is good the Marshals had already started to move toward implementing a threat assessment process. Those familiar with the Darren Mack case (Mack killed his ex-wife and shot the judge who oversaw their divorce), for example, may recall that Mack engaged in several typical warning signs - including threatening communications to the judge - that could have been detected in a threat assessment case.

For more information on evaluating threats to judges - and a great case study of a U.S. Supreme Court threat - click here see our chapter on preventing violence to judicial officials and courts. This chapter originally appeared in the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.

St. Louis Shooting at ABB Plant

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 07:24:00 +0000

It happened again - just three days after the courthouse shooting in Las Vegas. This time it was a disgruntled 51-year old employee who had been in an ongoing legal dispute with his employer - ABB Group - over his pension. The employee, Timothy Hendron, killed four before killing himself inside the plant. According to the latest news reports, Hendron and other employees filed a lawsuit against ABB Group, a Swiss company, in 2006 for undisclosed and unreasonable fees related to their pensions. Apparently Hendron had recently told neighbors and friends that he felt he was being retaliated against at work because of the lawsuit.

As with other targeted shootings, it will be interesting to see what warning signs or clues may have preceded this attack. Did Hendron's behavior raise concerns among his co-workers or supervisors? Did he talk about wanting to do harm to anyone at ABB? Were there Internet postings about his grievances toward ABB? Did anyone know that Hendron was suicidal?

In these tough economic times especially, these shootings are no longer a surprise. But they are not inevitable. Businesses can get training for their supervisors in behavioral threat assessment - or get help from outside consultants - to be able to look into reports about troubling behavior, threats, grievances, or other concerns in the workplace - and ultimately to be able to help employees who may be struggling.

Courthouse Shooting in Las Vegas

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 08:07:00 +0000

Yesterday a gunman opened fire in the federal courthouse in Las Vegas, NV, killing security officer Stanley W. Cooper - a retired Las Vegas Metro police officer -- and wounding a deputy U.S. Marshal before being killed by federal marshals after he fled across the street from the courthouse. Although the news reports still provide only minimal details, my impression so far is that this incident of targeted violence will follow a pattern similar to previous rampage shootings. Current news reports (with an eyewitness video) tell us that the shooter was Johnny Wicks, a 66-year old Las Vegas resident whose Social Security benefits had been cut and who had sued the Social Security Administration as a result. Apparently Wicks' case had been thrown out of court in September 2009, three months prior to his shooting.

The fact pattern preceding today's courthouse shooting sounds similar to the fact pattern in the hostage situation in Edmonton (Canada) in October 2009, where an injured worker opened fire on the Canadian workers' compensation offices after learning that his workers' compensation benefits would soon be cut (see my blog post from October 26, 2009 for more information). As in the Edmonton situation - which fortunately ended peacefully -- I would not be surprised if we eventually learn that the Las Vegas courthouse shooter had been suicidal prior to carrying out today's shooting. And as in the Edmonton hostage situation, I would not be surprised if the Las Vegas courthouse shooter had seriously concerned or worried various people in his life in advance of the shooting. And like in the Edmonton hostage situation, I would not be surprised if we learn that the Las Vegas courthouse shooter communicated his intentions to carry out his shooting in advance of doing harm - perhaps threatening the judge who handled the case, telling others he was going to seek some form of retribution, or even posting something on the Internet. More to come in this case...

Shooter's Father Held Accountable?

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 09:22:00 +0000

In a fascinating legal development in rampage shootings, German authorities have charged the father of a school shooter with 15 counts of manslaughter for failing to keep his legally-registered guns secure. An article on BBC.com details the charges and summarizes the case, where 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer took his father's guns into his former school and killed 9 students and 3 teachers at Albertville secondary school on March 11, 2009. After leaving the school, Kretschmer commandeered a car, drove 25 miles, then killed two more people in a nearby town before turning the gun on himself as police approached. The charges allege that Kretschmer's father was negligent in his storage of his weapons -- even though they were legally registered - so that Kretschmer was able to get his hands on his father's gun and a large amount of ammunition as well.

As far as I know, the parents of U.S. school shooters have never been charged with any charges that encompassed some negligence or responsibility for their children's school shootings. It will be interesting to follow the trajectory of this case as it develops in Germany.

Safety Tip: Watch for Abduction/Car-Jacking Attempts

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 07:59:00 +0000

An article in today's Reno Gazette-Journal describes an attempted car-jacking in Reno, where a woman put her kids in the car and, leaving the keys in the ignition, left the vehicle to lock up her business. The would-be car jacker jumped in the car and started to drive away with the woman's children in the backseat. Fortunately for everyone involved, the woman's boyfriend was able to get in the car and plead with the car-jacker to let the kids out. A short time later, the car-jacker crashed the car into a low wall and fled on foot. The kids and boyfriend suffered only minor injuries.

This safety tip may seem obvious but it's worth a reminder, especially as the holiday season approaches: Don't leave your keys in the ignition. Especially with your kids in the car. Instead, do whatever you can to make yourself a more difficult target: Park in a well lit area, near lots of foot traffic/stores. Ask someone from the store to help carry your purchases to your car, so you are not alone and not loaded down with bags. If there is someone loitering near your car, turn around and go back in the store - and wait until the person leaves or until someone can escort you to your car. And as you approach your car, take note of your surroundings. See who is around you. Glance under the car as you approach to see if anyone is there. Glance in the backseat. If anything looks odd, turn around and go back in the store and get help. And don't worry about looking overly-anxious if you do. Personally, I'd rather be alive and thought to be a bit of a worry-wort, than dead and remembered as (foolishly) brave.

Suggestion for the Army: Establish Threat Assessment Teams

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:01:00 +0000

The rampage shooting by Nidal Hasan at the Fort Hood army base was a textbook case of targeted violence (see earlier Threat Resources blog post on 07 NOV). Nasan had raised concern among several people -- including co-workers and law enforcement -- for recent troubling behavior. He was also known to be facing multiple losses and appeared to be increasingly desperate about his upcoming deployment. Having a threat assessment team on base could have given his co-workers and others a place to report their concerns. Similarly, a threat assessment team that learned about Nasan could have reached out to law enforcement and discovered his recent Internet postings and the concern they generated within the law enforcement community.

My point here in not to serve as a Monday-morning quarterback, declaring with 20/20 hindsight what should have been done. Rather, I want to encourage the U.S. military to give serious consideration to establishing behavioral threat assessment teams to guard against future threats. The purpose of establishing a behavioral threat assessment team is to have the ability to identify, investigate, assess, and reduce risks from within - from soldiers, family members, and others not typically seen as "enemies." Establishing behavioral threat assessment teams on bases and in field units would give the military the ability to address a wide range of concerning, threatening, and odd behavior - and to be able to identify emerging problems, before they become explosive or deadly.

Establishing behavioral threat assessment teams would also help to re-assure families of soldiers that something is being done to ensure their loved ones' safety - off the battlefield as well as on. Having threat assessment teams in place also offers family members a place to report concerns of their own.

The high rate of suicide in the U.S. military argues even more for building a threat assessment capacity - as behavioral threat assessment can be used to prevent suicide as well as harm to others. The U.S. military does an excellent job of force protection in guarding against threats from the outside. Adopting threat assessment processes -- and getting training on behavioral threat assessment from professionals with demonstrated experience assessing and managing threats -- would go a long way toward helping our military guard against threats from within -- and help address suicide concerns at the same time.

Fort Hood Shooting: A Textbook Case

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:27:00 +0000

What a week - first the rampage shooting by a U.S. soldier, where Nidal Hasan killed 13 and wounded 30 at Fort Hood, the army base where he was assigned. From what news accounts have reported so far, Hasan's shooting at the Fort Hood army base in Fort Hood, Texas was a textbook case of targeted violence. An recent article in The Washington Post provides a great synopsis about Hasan and what was known about him before his attack. Nasan's pre-attack behavior looked quite similar to so many of those who have engaged in assassination, stalking, workplace shootings, school/campus shootings, and other acts of targeted violence.

Like many other attackers, Hasan had a serious grievance before his attack - in this case, it was his deep opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also juggling multiple losses. He has tried repeatedly to obtain a discharge from the army but was unable to do so. And he was about to be deployed to serve in the Iraq war.

Like so many other attackers, Nasan had concerned multiple people around him prior to his attack: in this case, these included co-workers at the medical facilities where he worked were reluctant to refer patients to him -- even though he was a psychiatrist specializing in traumatic stress (arguably a sought-after speciality in today's military) -- because of his odd behavior and interactions. And he had also raised concern among law enforcement for a recent Internet post where he compared suicide bombers to kamikaze pilots, and praised their actions as honorable.

Like so many other attackers, his recent behavior also suggested that he was suicidal prior to his attack. He had been giving away his possessions (although some attributed that to his deployment) and he had not mentioned his impending deployment with his aunt even though he's exchanged email with her recently. This last point may indicate that he had planned out his attack for a while (typical of attackers in targeted violence) and never intended to get to the point where he would be deployed. It is quite possible that Nasan hoped to be killed in the course of his attack or planned to kill himself as part of it. These are things we won't know until law enforcement and military police interview him.

In the case of Nasan - as in so many other attacks -- it seems that no one had all of the facts about what Nasan had been thinking about and planning to do. But Nasan had raised serious concerns among several people for odd behaviors and praise of suicide bombers. This type of concerning behavior is exactly the type that a threat assessment team can investigate, evaluate, and decide whether some intervention was necessary to reduce the likelihood of harm.

SafetyTip: Do You Know Where Your Blackberry Is?

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:52:00 +0000

I just saw a fascinating article about a new application for Blackberry phones that can turn your Blackberry into a surveillance device. An article in The Washington Post highlights the fact that your Blackberry can be used against you to track your conversations and listen in on your surroundings. Fortunately there are some critical flaws in the application's design: namely that the application must be installed on your Blackberry before it can work and that it leaves a noticeable icon on the Blackberry's screen. So either the would-be spy will need to get their hands on your Blackberry and install it, or they need to find a way to convince you to install it.

Some simple tips to protect you from this application: Keep your Blackberry in your possession at all times; periodically check for new/unknown icons; and don't click on any executable files that are emailed to you. Simple things we already know to do to keep our computers safe - but a good reminder to take the same precautions with our Blackberrys and other smartphones.

Hostage Situation Ends Peacefully

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 06:30:00 +0000

Last week a gunman, Patrick Clayton, entered the Workers Compensation Bureau offices in Edmonton, Alberta (Canada) and took several people hostage at gunpoint. The facts of this situation mirror those we typically see in rampage shootings and other incident of targeted violence: he was facing multiple losses, had a grievance, was suicidal, and wanted to call attention to his problem. One of the initial articles in the Edmonton Journal relayed the details - the gunman, Clayton, had an existing claim at the WCB for having been injured on the job and had an ongoing dispute with the WCB over whether he was well enough to return to work. Three months before this incident, he told his neighbors (and possibly others) that he was thinking about killing himself. He was in the middle of a bitter custody battle over his 6 year-old son. And he recently had been told his workers compensation benefits would soon end.

One fascinating aspect to this case was the reaction of the hostages to the gunman. According to reports that came out after the incident was over, the hostages had listened to Clayton's story and his goal to call attention to his situation, and helped him craft emails to local media. Some have credited this reaction by the hostages - and expert work by the trained hostage negotiators - with helping to resolve this incident without any bloodshed or injuries.

I happened to be in Edmonton at the time this hostage incident unfolded, in town to provide threat assessment training to a college in Edmonton (see the 26 OCT blog post). I was interviewed by several media outlets regarding the WCB hostage incident, including the Edmonton Journal, Metro News (Canada), and a live interview on Alberta Prime Time, a province-wide television program.

Jaycee Dugard Investigator Honored

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 07:15:00 +0000

On Tuesday the town of Brentwood, CA honored one of its residents, Officer Allison Jacobs, for her critical role in solving the kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard from South Lake Tahoe 18 years ago. An AP article in the San Jose Mercury News provides some details on how Jacobs, who is an officer with the University of California, Berkeley police department, followed up on a concern from fellow UC Berkeley employee Lisa Campbell that Phillip Garrido and his two young daughters acted strangely when they visited the UC Berkeley campus on the previous day. When Officer Jacobs acted on Campbell's initial observation that something wasn't quite right, she found out that Garrido was a registered sex offender and contacted Garrido's parole officer regarding his concerning behavior and the fact that he had children with him.

Were it not for Lisa Campbell telling someone about her concerns about Garrido's behavior, Officer Jacobs would have had no reason to look into Garrido's background. And were it not for Officer Jacobs' initiative in following up on Campbell's brief report, Garrido's parole officer might never have discovered that Garrido had children living with him - and likely would never have determined that the children's mother was Jaycee Dugard, who had been kidnapped and held captive by Garrido for 18 years. This case offers a compelling example of how a simple act of reporting a concern over troubling behavior can lead to a crime being solved, a family reunited, and harm prevented to other children. Bravo to Officer Allison Jacobs and to Lisa Campbell!

Grandma Threatens School

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 21:46:00 +0000

From the Now-I've-Heard-Everything file comes a story on msnbc.com about a 51-year-old grandmother who called in an anonymous bomb threat to her grandchildren's elementary school. The call resulted in the school's immediate evacuation. Apparently the grandmother did not have permission from her daughter to visit her grandchildren at the school. No word yet on what the grandmother thought she might have accomplished by phoning in the threat. It will be interesting to watch this story unfold.

New Investigative Tool for Campus and School Threats

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:04:00 +0000

Hello again and welcome to Fall. After a higher-than-normal workload of threat cases (blame the downturn in the economy), I finally have some time again to devote to this blog and to sharing new developments in threat assessment and violence prevention. It's good to be back.

The first news I have is that following the demise of JuicyCampus.com, several new campus and school gossip web sites have emerged to take its place -- just in time for the start of the school year. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education describes the launch of a few of these sites -- including CampusGossip, CollegeACB, and PeoplesDirt (which includes sections of high school gossip as well as some campus gossip). The Chronicle article provides a good overview of these sites, and a good recap of the rise and fall of JuicyCampus.

Although many campus administrators, educators, parents, and students have -- understandably -- been highly critical of campus/school gossip sites, I have found them to be a helpful investigative tool for any threat cases I work involving colleges or schools. I can quickly and easily search these sites to see if a particular institution, student, or professor/teacher is mentioned. And any posts about a particular person (be they a threatener, target, or third party) can give me a better understanding of the situation at hand and/or interpersonal disputes or grievances that may be relevant.

If the posts turn out to be bogus, it is still informative to know that the person in question has been targeted publicly. And yes, the posts are anonymous - but that doesn't detract from the utility of their content. Although I don't know for certain, it may be possible for local or campus police to gain access (through formal procedures such as search warrants/subpoenas or even informal relationships) to identifying information about otherwise-anonymous posters if there is a potential risk to public safety. They can certainly try, in any case.

Even when my searches on these sites fail to yield any hits on specific names of threateners or victims - as often happens - the information posted about the particular campus/school can still offer a different perspective on the institution's climate or culture than I get just from talking with administrators or faculty. As long as these sites are around, we can at least leverage their content for some good investigative and preventive work.

Safety Tip: Fake Babysitting Ad Ends in Murder

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Incident
This past week Michael John Anderson was sentenced to life in prison for killing Katherine Ann Olson. According to an Associated Press article, Anderson "lured" Olson to his house with a fake online ad looking for a babysitter. Olson, 24, answered the ad, which Anderson posted on the web site Craigslist.com. When she arrived at Anderson's house, he shot and killed her. Prosecutors said that Anderson lured Olson to his home because he wanted to know 'what it felt like to kill.'

Analysis
This terrible tragedy underscores the importance of checking out anyone you meet on the Internet, but the same goes for any classified ads in the newspaper or displayed in your local grocery store. The need to be vigilant is especially true for women. When answering an advertisement - whether for a babysitter, a cheap sofa, or a date -- it is important to ask probing questions, check references where possible, and use the buddy system. Bring a friend with you to check out that sofa or babysitting job. A large male friend can be particularly useful for such excursions (plus he can help carry the sofa). And if a potential job involves going to someone's home - for babysitting, mowing the lawn, etc. - you are just as entitled to check out your potential employer as they are to vet you. Ask for names and contact information of people who have worked at their home before - and then call those people and ask about their experiences. Be sure to ask whether they still do work there -- and if not, why not.

For dates, you can be more discreet but still be safe. First, always meet the person in a public place, such as a restaurant or a bar. Don't let ever let someone you don't know pick you up at your home. And remember, no matter how long you may have been communicating with this person online and by phone, this is still somoene you don't know. Nor should you agree to meet the person at their home - even if they argue that it's on the way or claim they have no means of transportation. If they get pushy, take that as a big red flag and forget the date altogether.

Once you choose a public place to meet, tell a few friends where you are going and ask one or two of them to drop by and make sure you are ok. Your date doesn't have to know they are there; your friends can sit and have a drink at the bar and just make sure you look safe. Or you can develop a subtle hand signal to let them know you're okay. And if you're going to change locations, send your friends a text message to let them know where you're going and how long you'll be there. At the end of the date, say goodbye at the restaurant or bar and get in a cab by yourself; or wait until your date has gone before walking to your car. If you feel unsafe for any reason - or if your date gets pushy about driving you home or walking you to your car, that's a big red flag too. Go back into the restaurant and ask them to call you a cab, or ask the bouncer at the bar for help. And you can always call that friend to come pick you up. Just offer to return the favor some day.

Above all, trust your intuition when meeting someone you don't know - whether through a online ad, newspaper classified, or grocery store homemade sign. If any part of the situation feels wrong - even if you can't put your finger on why -- chances are high you're right. Get out of there quickly and safely and don't go back for any reason. If you forget something like your purse or cellphone, you can always ask a friend to go back with you.

School Stops Bullying and Helps Bullies

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:56:00 +0000

There is a great article on abcnews.com today about how one school in Ely, Nevada tackled a very tough bullying problem with impressive results. The problem had gotten so bad at White Pine Middle School that students were opting to attend a different school 40 miles away, and many who stayed were miserable. After an analysis, the school figured out that the same eight students were behind most of the bullying. The school tackled the issue by working directly with the bullies to find out what personal problems were behind their aggressive and tormenting behavior. The school found ways to help address the bullies' problems, which stemmed largely from problems at home, and were able to dramatically improve the school's overall climate. Students who had left to attend the other school returned because they felt safe again.

Addressing and eradicating bullying is important for several reasons. First, the experience of being bullied can create severe problems for victims, including depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide. Second, we know from research that the majority of students who have carried out school shootings felt bullied by others before their attacks - so addressing bullying may well help stop other problems. Finally, we know from other research that bullies often score the highest on tests for depression. Therefore, finding ways to address bullies' problems - as White Pine Middle School did - can help erase the problem for good. The story is a great example of how schools can tackle the problem of bullying head on - and without necessarily having to spend a lot in time or money to do so. White Pine Middle School should be applauded for a job well done.

Classic Warning Signs in Germany School Shooting

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 21:40:00 +0000

Incident
On Wednesday, Tim Kretschmer, a 17 year old boy, returned to the high school where he'd graduated last year and opened fire, killing nine students and three teachers at his former school in Winnenden, Germany. According to an article at TimesOnline, it now appears that Kretschmer also shot a man, believed to be the gardener, outside of the psychiatric clinic where he's been sent for treatment months earlier. Several media outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, have reported that Kretschmer was being treated for depression last year and had been referred to a clinic in Winnenden, but stopped going for treatment after only a few sessions. After killing the man outside the Winnenden psychiatric clinic immediately after his attack at the Albertville school, Kretschmer then commandeered a car, taking the driver hostage, and shot and killed two other individuals at a car dealership in a nearby town before killing himself. This attack came a day after a highly-publicized rampage shooting spread across two towns in southern Alabama (see "AL Shooting Planned, not Impulsive" below, posted on 03.11.2009).

Analysis
From the information that is emerging about this attack, it appears that Kretschmer showed several classic warning signs that most previous school shooters showed prior to their attacks. In the Safe School Initiative -- the joint U.S. Secret Service/U.S. Department of Education study of school shootings that my colleagues and I conducted -- we discovered several major findings that were common among most school shooters. So far, news reports about the investigation indicate that Kretschmer's behavior was similar to that of previous school shooters in several key areas. Below are listed some of the major findings of the Safe School Initiative and how Kretschmer's behavior compares:

Safe School Initiative Findings:

School shootings are rarely impulsive. Instead, they are typically thought out and planned in advance.
So far several articles have reported that Kretschmer carried over 250 bullets on him when he entered the school and started his attack. This suggests possible planning for a large-scale attack. It will be worth watching to see if the police investigation yields any more specific information about planning.

School shooters often tell others about their ideas or plans for harm in advance of their attack.
Initial reports indicated that Kretschmer had warned of his attack in a chat room post six hours before his shooting. A teenager from Bavaria reported to his father that he has received a post from a boy in Germany about his plans to go back to his former school carry out an attack. In the post Kretschmer also reportedly said that he was sick of life. More recent reports, however, say that authorities have become concerned about the veracity of the posts and think they may be fake. Even if these posts turn out to be fake, I would not be surprised if the investigation eventually reveals that Kretschmer talked about his intentions with others - or posted them somewhere - in the days and weeks before Wednesday's shooting.

School shooters rarely direct threats to their targets in advance of doing any harm.
In the reports so far, there has been no mention of Kretschmer threatening anyone he targeted prior to his shooting. It is possible that the investigation will reveal that Kretschmer threatened some of this targets before the shooting - but I believe it is more likely that investigators will find communications with OTHER people - rather than any potential targets - about the harm he intended to carry out.

Most school shooters had considered or attempted suicide prior to their attacks. Many had been experiencing desperation or despair.
Several news reports have mentioned that Kretschmer was being treated for depression, and that he had terminated his treatment after only a few sessions. He also killed himself in the course of his attack. In addition, in Kretschmer's alleged the chat room post he was reported as saying that he didn't want to live anymore. Even if it turns out that the post was fake or did not exist, the fact that Kretschmer had been diagnosed with depression is in keeping with most previous school shooters.

Most school shooters had access to and had used weapons prior to their attack.
Kretschmer's father was a member of a local gun club and Kretschmer was reported to have frequented the club for target practice with his father. In addition, Kretschmer's father is reported to have owned at least 15 weapons that he kept at the family's home, nearly all in a locked cabinet. Reports also indicate that the handgun that Kretschmer used in his attack was the one gun that his father kept unlocked in their home.

Many school shooters felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to their attacks.
From the note that Kretschmer's allegedly posted in the chat room six hours prior to his attack, he indicated that he felt that everyone laughed at him and no one recognized his potential.

As the investigation unfolds, it will be interesting to see if other facts come to light that suggest Kretschmer's situation was like that of previous school shooters. Specifically, it will be worth watching to see if people in Kretschmer's life had been seriously troubled by or concerned about his behavior prior to the shooting. It will also be worth watching to see if Kretschmer communicated with anyone else (besides the chat room post in question) beforehand about his plans for the shooting. Finally, it will be interesting to see if investigators find that any other peers or friends of Kretschmer's were helping Kretschmer with his plans, or were daring him to go through with the attack. In the meantime, our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families in Winnenden.

AL Shooting Planned, not Impulsive

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 21:19:00 +0000

Incident
On Tuesday Michael McLendon, a 28-year old who recently quit his job, carried out a rampage shooting across two small towns in southern Alabama, killing 10 people including several family members.

Analysis
From the evidence that is emerging, it was clear this was a planned shooting, rather than an impulsive act. According to Wednesday evening's update on MSNBC.com, a list found at McLendon's home indicated he had targeted several of those individuals and other entities as well, including two companies where he used to work, several former co-workers and supervisors, and his mother's former employer. Those listed were people McLendon felt had wronged him. In the latest update on MSNBC.com, the Coffee County District Attorney, Gary McAliley said. “It’s obvious to me he had planned doing this kind of thing and had for some time."Authorities also said the amount of ammunition that McLendon had suggested he may have intended to kill far more people than he did.

This analysis is a preliminary one, as information about McLendon and his attack is just beginning to emerge. It will be interesting to see what other pre-attack concerns may emerge as the investigation unfolds. Many workplace and rampage shooters tell other people about their plans for attack in advance - whether in person, on Web sites or in chat rooms, or even through videos posted on the Internet. In addition, many concern multiple people around them by engaging in very troubling or disturbing behavior before they ever do harm. And many are suicidal before carrying out their shootings. As the investigation progresses, it is possible that we will learn more about McLendon and about the behaviors he showed prior to his rampage shooting.

Twitter Users Help Solve School Threat

noreply@blogger.com (Marisa R. Randazzo, Ph.D.) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:56:00 +0000

If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend an article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch about how some crafty and persistent work by several Twitter users helped solve an anonymous school death threat in St. Louis, Missouri earlier this week.

Incident
It all began with an Internet search that a teacher in Virginia asked her husband, Jeremy Boggs, to run for a class she was teaching the next day. Reading a Wikipedia entry from the search, Boggs found a threat posted in the middle of the Wikipedia text, that said in part "I'M GOING TO SHOOT EVERYONE AT THAT (expletive) SCHOOL...ESPECIALLY KATRICE NOBLE" (quoted from the St. Louis-Post Dispatch article). Boggs used Twitter -- the social networking service that limits users to posts of 140 characters only -- to ask friends and colleagues whether he should do anything about the threat. The Twitter responses - or tweets, as they are called -- told him he should report the threat, both to Wikipedia editors and to the police.

But which police to call? The threat didn't specify a school or town, only Katrice Noble. Through the cooperation of several individuals on Twitter over the course of several hours -- and communicating using only 140 characters at a time -- these Twitter users were able to determine that Katrice Noble heads a charter school, Lift for Life Academy, in the St. Louis area. They then tried notifying Noble's school and the local police but weren't able to reach anyone because it was late at night. Finally, one Twitter user in Ohio was able to reach police in her area, who were able to reach Noble in St. Louis. Eventually the police and school officials were able to identify the student that posted the threat and determined that it was done as a prank. The school re-opened without incident.

Analysis
I think Boggs and his fellow Twitter users deserve a huge round of applause for their sound judgment in deciding to report the threat -- and even more importantly for their persistence in doing so. It took some digging for them to find out the school with which Katrice Noble was affiliated, its location, and the police department that served the area. And then it took several attempts and a fair amount of time for the Twitter group to reach someone who could help. They didn't stop even after leaving phone messages with the school and with local police. The Twitter group kept at it until they were sure that someone in law enforcement knew about the threat and would handle it from there.

What's important to recognize here is that people often don't report threats or troubling behavior, even though they should. In the Secret Service / Department of Education study of school shootings, one of our major findings was that prior to most shootings, other people knew about the shooters' plans beforehand, but never told anyone. There are a lot of reasons why people don't report threats that they hear, or tell someone about troubling behavior they observe. Decades of research on "bystander apathy" have shown time and again that most people fail to do something to help, such as call the police - even when a crime occurs right in front of them (for more on bystander apathy, click here). In the case of not reporting threats, these reasons can range from thinking the person is just joking, to thinking someone else is better equipped to know what to do, to fearing some consequence (like becoming a target themselves) if they try to do something to help (see the Secret Service/Department of Education Bystander Study for more information on why some students have reported threats while others have not).

But it is clear that there was no bystander apathy in this case. The Twitter users who helped stop the school threat did all the right things. They gave Boggs good advice after his initial query -- that he should report the threat because it is better to be safe than sorry. But Boggs and the Twitter group then went above and beyond to make sure law enforcement knew about the threat. I hope that people will remember this story of the Twitter group if they are ever in a position to report a threat or troubling behavior. In most cases, it won't be so difficult to pass along information to someone who can help. But even when it is difficult, the Twitter group showed us just how important it is to continue to try.

It's not often that we hear good news stories like this - perhaps because prevented attacks and people doing the right thing are not as "headline grabbing" as the bad things that happen every day. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch has done a great service in sharing this Good Samaritan story.