Spotlight

The Violence Prevention Project, part of Minnesota’s Hamline University, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center dedicated to reducing violence through actionable research. Started in 2018 with a grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), the project created the largest and most comprehensive database on mass shooters from 1966 to present day, with information gathered from open source data, first person accounts such as suicide notes and social media posts, secondary accounts such as media coverage and court transcripts, and interviews with imprisoned mass shooters and their families. Over 150 variables are included in the database, including past trauma, demographics, employment and relationship issues.

The database identifies commonalities between perpetrators of mass violence and provides several key findings, with the overall goal of determining effective prevention and intervention strategies to prevent future violence. Over 80 percent of mass shooters exhibited symptoms of crisis prior to their act(s) of violence, with most perpetrators viewing the act of violence itself as their “final act.” This knowledge reiterates the need for crisis intervention services, as well as the idea that suicide prevention measures can also prevent mass shootings. Further, almost half of all mass shooters in the database informed at least one person about their intentions in advance, a phenomenon referred to as “leakage.” The researchers noted that this is a key intervention point, and specific attention could be focused on helping individuals who may be on the receiving end of this leakage understand the importance, as well as the vehicle, for reporting this information.

The Violence Prevention Project also has databases on homicides in K-12 schools, colleges and universities and houses of worship. These databases represent a crucial resource for State Administering Agencies and their stakeholders, both as an accessible information source as well as to inform the landscape of gun violence reduction and crisis intervention programming more broadly.

New From the NCJA Center for Justice Planning

The Center for Justice Planning is pleased to announce the arrival of three new behavioral health documents! First, read a short document familiarizing State Administering Agencies (SAAs) and other criminal justice planners with the facts of mental illness and their relation to common myths. Then, learn about the three core services of an effective crisis response system, including how these core services intersect with the criminal justice system and the vital role SAAs can play in supporting the development and expansion of best practice crisis services. Lastly, browse our new Innovation Lab report, detailing key findings and recommendations from the Supporting Behavioral Health and Crisis Response Initiatives Innovation Lab, including promising practices, engagement strategies and more. NCJA’s Innovation Labs are small working groups of SAAs participating in idea generation and implementation around a key area of need.

Upcoming Events

Do you work on Byrne SCIP? If so, please register for the Center for Justice Planning’s open Q&A session on December 10 from 12-1pm ET. Bring your questions—the CJP is here to help!

Editor's Note

Happy holidays to all who celebrate! Look for the next NCJP newsletter on January 28.