St. Petersburg College has adopted threat assessment procedures developed by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service in a collaborative effort to help school and college campuses reduce violence and create safe climates. Faculty can download threat assessment forms on MySPC.
The primary purpose of a threat assessment is to prevent targeted violence. The threat assessment process is centered on an analysis of the facts and evidence of behavior in a given situation. The appraisal of risk in a threat assessment focuses on actions, communications and specific circumstances that might suggest that an individual intends to mount an attack and is engaged in planning or preparing for an event. The central question in a threat assessment inquiry or investigation is whether a student poses a threat, not whether the student has made a threat.
Faculty, administration, other staff and students must listen respectfully to each other. A school with a culture of two-way listening will encourage and empower students to have the courage to break the ingrained code of silence.
REPORTING SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR
St. Petersburg College has adopted threat assessment procedures developed by the U.S. Department of Education and the U.S. Secret Service in a collaborative effort to help school and college campuses reduce violence and create safe climates.
Report suspicious behavior by students, employees or visitors to the Provost's Office:
- Caruth Health Education Center, Provost Office, 727-394-6110 or 727-341-3602
- Clearwater Campus, Provost Office, 727-341-4738 or 727-791-2474
- EpiCenter, Security Dispatch, 727-719-2526
- Seminole Campus, Provost Office, 727-394-6110 or 727-394-6109
- St. Petersburg/Gibbs Campus, Provost Office, 727 341-4349 and 727-341-4603
- SPC Allstate Center, Provost Office, 727-341-4554
- SPC Downtown, Provost Office, 727-341-3666 or 727-341-4248
- SPC Midtown, Provost Office, 727-341-3666 or 727-302-6436
- Tarpon Springs Campus, Provost Office, 727-341-3602 or 727-712-5720
If you cannot reach your campus Provost Office, please get in touch with college-wide Security Dispatch: 727-791-2560
EARLY WARNING SIGNS
It is not always possible to predict behavior that will lead to violence. However, educators and sometimes students can recognize certain early warning signs. In some situations, and for some students, different combinations of events, behaviors and emotions may lead to aggressive rage or violent behavior toward themselves or others. A good rule of thumb is to assume that these warning signs, especially when they are presented in combination, indicate a need for further analysis (threat assessment) to determine an appropriate intervention.The National School Safety Center identified the following behaviors that could indicate a student's potential for harming him/herself or others, based on a recent study.
- Severe social withdrawal
- Excessive feelings of isolation and being alone
- Excessive feelings of rejection
- Being a victim of violence
- Feelings of being picked on and persecuted
- Expressions of violence in writings and drawings
- Poor or deteriorating performance
- Uncontrolled anger
- Pattern of impulsive, intimidating or bullying behavior
- History of disciplinary problems
- Prejudicial attitudes and intolerance for differences
- Affiliation with gangs
- Access to, possession of, or use of firearms, explosives or weapons
- Threats of violence when angry
- Preference for books or videos with violent themes
- Background of substance abuse, including alcohol
- Few or no close friends
- Often depressed and has significant mood swings
- Has threatened or attempted suicide
- Displays cruelty to animals
CIRCUMSTANCES THAT BRING A STUDENT TO OFFICIAL ATTENTION
Some students may bring themselves to the attention of authorities by engaging in communications that cause concern:
- A student submits a story for an English assignment about a character who shoots other students in a school setting
- Students in a video class make a movie about students who bring bombs to school
- An administrator receives an e-mail stating, I'm going to kill everyone in this asylum
- The personal webpage of a student has links to web pages with information about explosives
Other students of concern come to the attention of authorities through second or third parties:
- A student reports that he/she has been threatened by another student and has been warned not to tell anyone
- A neighbor of a student calls campus authorities to report suspicions that the student is experimenting with bomb-making devices or weapons
In still other cases, students come to the attention of authorities through anonymous communications:
- An anonymous call is received through Security to report concerns about the behavior of a student
- Receipt of an anonymous call that a bomb will go off on one of the campuses
- An anonymous letter stating remember Virginia Tech and warns that "Judgment Day" is coming