Reflections on school safety from a threat assessment perspective

Behavioral threat assessment is a violence prevention strategy that can be adapted for use in schools. The Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) is a form of behavioral threat assessment that is designed to recognize the developmental needs of youth and the mission of schools to help all students be successful. A multidisciplinary CSTAG team employing a five-step decision-tree will consider the student's intentions and the context of his/her behavior to distinguish transient threats that are not serious from the small proportion of substantive threats that require protective action to prevent violence. From a threat assessment perspective, schools are not as dangerous as the public perceives, but less obvious problems in the school climate such as bullying and harassment require attention. CSTAG teams are oriented to helping students with the conflicts that underlie their threatening behavior rather than responding with a punitive, zero tolerance approach. Six controlled studies have supported the safety and effectiveness of the CSTAG model.