This Week in School and Campus Safety

Good morning,

This Weekly Update by the Illinois School and Campus Safety Program links to a new report by the U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center on Mass Attacks in Public Spaces, and promotes the upcoming sessions of Digital Threat Assessment, Advanced Digital Threat Assessment, and Preparing for the Unimaginable.

Thank you for your interest in school and campus safety. However, if you wish to no longer receive our emails, let me know and I will remove you from our contacts list.

Respectfully,

Laura Black
Program Coordinator
Illinois School and Campus Safety Program
National Threat Assessment Center Releases Report on Mass Attacks in Public Spaces

The U.S. Secret Service's National Threat Assessment Center has released the report Mass Attacks in Public Spaces: 2016-2020. According to the Secret Service website:

"Among the report’s key findings:Most of the attackers had exhibited behavior that elicited concern in family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, co-workers, and others, and in many cases, those individuals feared for the safety of themselves or others.
  • Many attackers had a history of physically aggressive or intimidating behaviors, evidenced by prior violent criminal arrests/charges, domestic violence, or other acts of violence toward others.
  • Half of the attackers were motivated by grievances, and were retaliating for perceived wrongs related to personal, domestic, or workplace issues.
  • Most of the attackers used firearms, and many of those firearms were possessed illegally at the time of the attack.
  • One-quarter of the attackers subscribed to a belief system involving conspiracies or hateful ideologies, including anti-government, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic views.
  • Many attackers experienced stressful events across various life domains, including family/romantic relationships, personal issues, employment, and legal issues. In some of these cases, attackers experienced a specific triggering event prior to perpetrating the attack.
  • Over half of the attackers experienced mental health symptoms prior to or at the time of their attacks, including depression, psychotic symptoms, and suicidal thoughts.
The report also highlights key operational implications for those tasked with violence prevention."
Upcoming Sessions of the Digital Threat Assessment Class via Zoom

The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program, in partnership with Safer Schools Together, is pleased to announce 2 upcoming sessions of the Digital Threat Assessment class are being held via Zoom in February and March. Digital Threat Assessment training will enable participants to establish a framework to better assess all threats by constructing and considering the digital baseline of a threat maker by locating, documenting, and evaluating social media data through a threat assessment lens. A significant portion of the day will be spent engaging in hands-on exercises on the most prevalent social media platforms and associated search applications. For more information and to register, click the corresponding link for the session you would like to attend.
Preparing for the Unimaginable: An In-Depth Look at Wellness, Trauma Recovery, and Resilience on Feb. 23rd via Zoom

The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program is pleased to announce the class Preparing for the Unimaginable: An In-Depth Look at Wellness, Trauma Recovery, and Resilience will be held on February 23rd, from 8:30 am - 12:30 pm via Zoom. This class is for K-12 schools, Institutions of Higher Education, law enforcement, and other school and campus safety stakeholders. For more information and to register, click here.
Upcoming Session of Advanced Digital Threat Assessment via Zoom

The Illinois School and Campus Safety Program is pleased to announce the class Advanced Digital Threat Assessment will be held on April 19th from 9:30 am-4:00 pm via Zoom. Building upon the Digital Threat Assessment class by Safer Schools Together, Advanced Digital Threat Assessment advances participants' understanding of finding and curating relevant digital information consistent with real-life digital threat assessment data gathering scenarios. Significant engagement and hands-on practice will take place as participants are assembled into investigative teams and given a true-to-life mock scenario. For more information and to register, click here.
Illinois School and Campus Safety Program www.ilschoolsafety.org