Targeted Violence

Subtopics

Physical Security

School Security Personnel

Violence Prevention

Prevent and mitigate targeted violence incidents.

Targeted violence refers to violence that is premeditated and directed at specific individuals, groups, or locations. Perpetrators select their targets to achieve specific motives, such as the resolution of a grievance or to make a political or ideological statement. Targeted violence is distinct from violence that is impulsive, random, or spontaneous and is often distinguished by pre-attack behaviors that suggest violence as a possible outcome. Those behaviors, if identified and addressed, can reduce the likelihood of a targeted violence incident at your school. The best practice for preventing targeted school violence is through the use of a multidisciplinary school threat assessment team, comprised of school staff tasked to identify, assess, and intervene with students who may pose a risk of harm to themselves or others.

Schools can work to prepare for potential acts of targeted violence by improving their campuses’ physical security and involving school personnel who are trained to prevent, recognize, and respond to threats of violence, as well as implementing other violence prevention strategies. Physical security measures can mitigate threats and reduce the amount of harm inflicted if incidents occur. Conducting a site assessment and developing building security plans can identify existing vulnerabilities and enhance overall school security.

Law enforcement, school resource officers (SRO), or security personnel can be invaluable resources to a school’s safety team because of their specialized knowledge in recognizing building security concerns and mitigating violent situations. SROs, who are typically sworn law enforcement officers, and school safety officers (SSO), who are typically non-sworn school security staff, have been trained to act as a first line of defense and respond to acts of violence. Their presence in schools allows them to build relationships with students that can prevent or mitigate school violence.

Use the filter below to sort resources available based upon stages of preparedness and subtopic.

Featured Resources

These resources are a starting point for learning about targeted violence. Use these resources to help implement a targeted violence prevention plan.

Guidance

K-12 School Security Guide Suite

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 2022

The suite is a set of products designed to inform safety and physical security planning for K-12 schools. It includes the K-12 School Security Guide (3rd ed.), which provides a comprehensive doctrine and systems-based methodology for vulnerability assessment, planning, and implementation of layered physical security elements, and the School Security Assessment Tool, a web-based assessment that walks users through a tailorable vulnerability analysis and provides results and recommendations that can be integrated into a school’s existing safety and security plans.

Tool

DHS Campus Resilience Program K–12 Active Shooter Exercise Starter Kits

Department of Homeland Security, June 2018

This tool helps K-12 school communities self-conduct a tabletop exercise and reinforces a school’s specific emergency plans, protocols, and procedures, while also testing and strengthening its preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities when responding to an active shooter incident.

Filter Resources

All Targeted Violence Resources

The federal government identified additional resources that highlight strategies for school safety. Use these resources to learn more about targeted violence.

Training Program

School Security Officer Certification Program

This webpage provides information for the Virginia School Security Officer Certification Program, including FAQs, forms, events, resources, and contacts.

Report

SIMEX After-Action Report

Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, 2020

This report details the key findings and takeaways from the pilot School Security Simulation Experiment (SIMEX). The goal of these findings is to provide data-informed conclusions and recommendations regarding physical and operational security in K-12 schools in the hopes of informing policy and operational decisions at the state, district, and school level.

Report

Targeted Violence Averted: College and University Case Studies

Department of Justice, 2020

This report examines eight case studies of incidents in which planned violence targeting institutions of higher education were averted by the potential attackers' peers, school administrators, and other campus safety stakeholders including law enforcement.