Mass Shootings: Media, Myths, and Realities by Schildkraut Jaclyn Elsass H. Jaymi

Author:Schildkraut, Jaclyn,Elsass, H. Jaymi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2016-03-12T16:00:00+00:00

INCREASING GUARDIANSHIP

Capable guardians include individuals, objects, and devices designed to prevent crime from taking place—for example, guards (armed or unarmed), alarm systems, dogs, and security cameras, as well as other interventions. Two important functions are performed by a capable guardian in order to disrupt criminal opportunity: (1) the guardians provide protection and oversight for the target; and (2) they act as a control or deterrent for the offender. In the case of potential mass shootings, increasing capable guardianship improves these two functions, thereby reducing the likelihood of an attack occurring. While this seems straightforward, people have been at odds with one another as to how to increase guardianship in the real world.

The cornerstone of guardianship is capability, according to routine activity theory (Cohen & Felson, 1979); yet this point often is overlooked and ignored. It is not enough to increase guardianship generally because only an increase in capable guardianship will reduce the likelihood of crime. The issue is complicated further as people try to define what capable guardianship actually entails in the real world. Every prevention strategy and device introduced for the purpose of thwarting mass shootings is not capable (despite being marketed as such), and therefore, likely to be either ineffective or counterproductive. Capable guardianship is that which is grounded in empirical research. Therefore, it is vital that prevention strategies and security inventions introduced with the purpose of reducing mass shootings through increasing capable guardianship be developed and designed upon a foundation of research findings produced by rigorous methodology. Failure to do so will result in, at the very least, a static, unimproved level of security, and possibly an actual decrease in safety.

One of the first areas we see a concentration on in the wake of a mass shooting centers on preparation and training. Arguably the strongest recommendation to come out of the Columbine Review Commission’s [CRC] (2001) report is the need to be prepared for these types of emergencies. In the report, the CRC (2001) makes a number of recommendations communicating a need for comprehensive crisis response plans, advanced planning for critical emergencies, training of school resource officers, and plans for the early detection of potential perpetrators. School security experts in particular stress the importance of preparation (Graham, Shirm, Liggin, Aitken, & Dick, 2006; Schneider, 2007, 2010a, 2010b; Tuoti, 2014). This has spurred schools, as well as other venues including workplaces, malls, and movie theaters, and first responders, to push for better preparation through enhanced training and crisis response planning (e.g., Bruzda, 2015; Gentile, 2015; Marcelo, 2014; Plotts, 2014; Safe and Sound, n.d.a, n.d.b; Stevenson, 2014).

Every mass shooting provides things to be learned, and those lessons, if accepted and analyzed thoroughly, help to guide our path toward better preparation in the future. For example, the attack in Columbine showed us the need for drafting and implementing crisis response plans (Mitchell, 2014) and better training of first responders, including school resource officers, on how to deal with these types of events. Today, most schools have developed and adopted a

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