School Safety and Violence Prevention Resources

We are shocked and saddened by the horrific shootings at a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school on December 14. The public and public officials are struggling to understand how and why such senseless carnage happened yet again and what, if anything, can be done to prevent future tragedies.

Keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility. The following resources were developed to help communities and first responders prevent and respond to incidents of mass violence.

A Content Analysis of News Reports of Averted School Rampages

American Academy of Pediatrics

A Qualitative Investigation of Averted School Shooting Rampages

Bracing for Disaster

Breaking the “Code of Silence”: A Lesson from Columbine

Campus Attacks: Targeted Violence Affecting Institutions of Higher Education

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Deadly Lessons: Understanding Lethal School Violence

Digital Imaging for Safe Schools: A Public Safety Response to Critical Incidents

Early Warning, Timely Response: A Guide to Safe Schools

The End of Innocence Part 2: Further Lessons in Crisis Management in the New Millennium

Evaluating Risk for Targeted Violence in Schools: Comparing Risk Assessment, Threat Assessment, and Other Approaches

The Final Report and Findings of the Safe School Initiative: Implications for the Prevention of School Attacks in the United States

Guide for Preventing and Responding to School Violence

Impacts of a Violence Prevention Program for Middle Schools: Findings After 3 Years of Implementation

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2011

National Association of School Psychologists

National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention/Crisis Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Resource Center

National Criminal Justice Reference Service School Safety Resources

Partnerships for Safe Schools Training

Prior Knowledge of Potential School-Based Violence: Information Students Learn May Prevent a Targeted Attack

Protective Intelligence and Threat Assessment Investigations: A Guide for State and Local Law Enforcement Officials

Providing Anchors—Reclaiming Our Troubled Youth: Lessons for Leaders from a Study of 15 Targeted School Shooters

Safe2Tell[R]: An Anonymous, 24/7 Reporting System for Preventing School Violence

The School Shooter: A Threat Assessment Perspective

Student Homicidal Violence in Schools: An International Problem

Threat Assessment: Defining an Approach for Evaluating Risk of Targeted Violence

Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates

To Protect and Educate: The School Resource Officer and the Prevention of Violence in Schools

What Can Be Done About School Shootings? A Review of the Evidence

NIJ’s Office of Science and Technology offers free school safety publications and software for law enforcement and other first responders.

Law Enforcement Response to Mental Illness

Criminal Justice Mental Health Consensus Project

Keeping the Peace: Police Discretion and Mentally Ill Persons

Law Enforcement Responses to Mental Illness: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice

People with Mental Illness

The Police Response to People with Mental Illnesses