Student Threats

Definitions

A threat is a statement expressing an intention to kill or injure, as distinguished from political argument, talk, or jest (Feinstein 1996). In theory, threats cause two types of harm: They create fear in the recipient, and they create a risk that the threatened conduct will actually take place. Although not all threats are carried out, a threat becomes an issue when made in such a way that a reasonable person would interpret it as a serious expression of an intention to kill, kidnap, or inflict bodily harm (Feinstein 1996). In light of the recent student killings in Colorado, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Arkansas, school administrators are taking youthful threats more seriously and, in some cases, having those who make them arrested. While student threats should be carefully evaluated, it is important to note, however, that statistically schools are the safest places for children to be (Brooks, Schiraldi, and Ziedenberg 2000). There is a one in a million chance of a student being killed in school. School murder, however, is only one type of school violence.

Characteristics

Student threats and school violence range from harassment to murder. Student threats are verbal communications to engage in physical, sexual, or psychological aggression that may result in injury or death. Threats can be made by students against other students or teachers, and teachers against students, although most threats and acts of school violence are by students against other students.

The identification of potentially violent and threatening students can help reduce incidents of school violence. Early warning signs include uncontrolled anger, inappropriate access to firearms, poverty, exposure to violence, racism, disintegration of the home environment, and low interest in school (Lindquist and Molnar 1995; Wright 1997). Violence in movies, television, sports, and popular music has impressed the minds of some school-aged children to the point that they act out violent scenarios in real life. Such observations of violence can be exacerbated by the availability of drugs and guns in schools.

Many schools that have ongoing problems with student threats and acts of violence are located in urban areas that are characterized by slums, poverty, and a breakdown in familial and societal controls. Schools located in close proximity to socially disorganized neighborhoods, where there is a high drug traffic, prostitution, and crime, as well as a lack of parental supervision, are more likely to experience high levels of violence (Gottfredson and Gottfredson 1985). Further, many schools found in metropolitan areas are underfunded, overcrowded, and lack computers and other equipment necessary for effective teaching, producing children who are poorly prepared for employment and college, in comparison to children who attend suburban schools with effective teachers and sufficient funding (Ascher 1994). Research reveals that highly populated schools with large classrooms make it difficult for meaningful and positive relationships to be established between school administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Many school administrators are convinced that without reducing class size, all other attempts to ensure school safety can at best offer only marginal improvement (Asher 1994).

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