Successful Violence Prevention Programs

Unfortunately, thoughts about security and safety tend to occur after an event has happened, as a reaction/response, rather than in anticipation of one e.g., a person buys a burglar alarm because their house was broken into. This is often the case with the implementation of violence prevention programs in corporations, enterprises, and educational facilities; only after a serious violent incident occurs do members of an organization question their safety. This is because most organizations have a focus that takes up most of their time and energy. A business is trying to sell more of its products and/or services, whilst an educational institution is attempting to find better ways to educate its students etc., and so safety and security needs often take a back seat, until something happens. Until a threat/danger is experienced, and the impact of it is felt upon the core goals of the institution/organization, safety and security is at best a secondary consideration. Sandy Hook Elementary School was permanently closed after the 2012 shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, after 20 children and six teachers lost their lives. Students were relocated to nearby buildings, rather than have to return to the place where the shooting took place. Edgewater Technology in Wakefield, Massachusetts, relocated its headquarters in large part due to a workplace shooting that took place in 2000. When a location becomes associated with violence, it is not a productive place to be in. This is one of the reasons why violence prevention programs are so important, and necessary; they prevent individual and collective trauma, and reduce potential financial costs (including increased hiring costs because prospective employees don’t want to work at a company or organization that is associated with violence).  Whilst it may not seem like it, schools are statistically safer places for children to be in, than their home and/or other spaces/settings they frequent. The times when children are most at risk of violence - associated with schools - are the times immediately before and after attending, when they are either on their way to or from the building (most crimes that occur within schools are acts of theft not assault). However, this is not to say there is no risk of violence, be it from active shooters/killers, or bullying etc. In last week’s article I looked at some of the policies that were/are largely unsuccessful in preventing violence – particularly active shooter incidents. In this week’s, I want to look at some of the common components of successful violence prevention programs and interventions that have reduced aggression and violence within schools.

Unsurprisingly, one of the most important components of successful violence prevention programs in schools is introducing them early. The younger children are when they are exposed to programs that emphasize the importance of developing empathy and self-control etc., the more successful these programs are. Whilst most serious acts of violence are committed by adolescents, in senior years, the development of good personal and social skills should be started much earlier. Such programs should also include peer, family, and community components so ideas taught, and skills learnt are experienced and reinforced in a variety of settings i.e., behaviors are nor siloed, where a child learns how to behave in one setting differently to others etc. Research has shown that students who feel committed to family, community and school are less likely to engage in acts of violence. In many school shootings, the school is seen as a representation and symbol of the larger community. Creating ties between students and the community is one way of preventing violence within and against schools. It is possible that many schools and communities already believe that the two entities enjoy strong ties, because of the ways in which a town may support the school’s sports teams etc. However, it is worth noting that Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris, who committed the Columbine High School Massacre, often voiced that the support that the local community gave to the High School Football team, left them feeling isolated because it seemed that the only thing their community valued was sports and athleticism. Any program focusing on building ties between schools, families and communities should be genuinely all inclusive.

Successful violence prevention programs have to be adaptable and changeable based on the child or teen’s age. Violence is largely contextual, and changes as a child/teen ages and any violence prevention program should acknowledge this, otherwise it becomes largely irrelevant. The risk factors for delinquency, aggression and violence vary by developmental stage e.g., whilst employment for adults tends to reduce drug use, it increases with teens; teens who have jobs tend to spend less time being “supervised” by adults, and are equipped with an income that allows them to purchase drugs etc. Whilst drug use by itself is not necessarily associated with violent offending, it may introduce teenagers to those who are engaged in other criminal enterprises, such as burglary and auto-theft etc., which in turn may introduce them to more hardened, violent offenders. Another factor to consider when looking at developmental stages of children and teenagers, is how the role of being the “outsider” changes with age. For younger children, being rejected by others is something that individuals do everything to avoid, however during adolescence being rejected by the majority, and being accepted by a minority or sub-group can be interpreted as a badge of honor. Any successful school violence prevention program needs to acknowledge how socialization changes with age. Klebold and Harris began to accept that they were the outsiders, and even relish this role, using it to fuel their violent fantasies.

Part of any violence prevention program has to be the creation of a climate of inclusion, safety, and positivity, and this should be done at the earliest opportunity, and span the wider community as well as the school itself. Whilst schools may measure success through grades and academic performance, the creation and development of empathetic individuals should not be forgotten, and/or seen as secondary. In any institution it is always possible for individuals to gain more knowledge, skills and abilities, however once core values become embedded in someone’s personality, these are extremely resistant to change and education.