Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence | University of Colorado at Boulder

SCHOOL ATTACKS
Findings of the Safe School Initiative conducted by the U.S. Secret Service and U.S. Dept of Education

Incidents of targeted violence at school are rarely sudden, impulsive acts.

Prior to most incidents, other people knew about the attacker’s idea and/or plan to attack.

Most attackers did not threaten their targets directly prior to advancing the attack.

There is no accurate or useful "profile" of students who engage in targeted school violence.

Most attackers engaged in some behavior, prior to the incident, that caused concern or indicated a need for help.

Most attackers were known to have difficulty coping with significant losses or personal failures. Many had considered or attempted suicide.

Many attackers felt bullied, persecuted, or injured by others prior to the attack.

Most attackers had access to and had used weapons prior to the attack.

In many cases, other students were involved in some capacity.

Despite prompt law enforcement responses, most shooting incidents were stopped by means other than law enforcement intervention.

Violence in America has reached epidemic proportions. Today, all Americans are touched directly or indirectly by violent acts. In response, the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence (CSPV), a research program of the Institute of Behavioral Science (IBS) at the University of Colorado at Boulder, was founded in 1992 to provide informed assistance to groups committed to understanding and preventing violence, particularly adolescent violence.

In an effort to establish more complete and valuable information to impact violence-related policies, programs, and practices, CSPV works from a multi-disciplinary platform on the subject of violence and facilitates the building of bridges between the research community and the practitioners and policy makers.

CSPV has a threefold mission:

First, the Information Clearinghouse serves to collect research literature and resources on the causes and prevention of violence and provides direct information services to the public by offering online searchable customized databases.
Second, CSPV offers technical assistance for the evaluation and development of violence prevention programs.
Third, CSPV maintains a basic research component through data analysis and other projects on the causes of violence and the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs.