School Shootings: Are You
Stoking the Risk Factors?
Lt. John M. Weinstein
Commander, District 3
NOVA College Police Department
Cell Phone Discipline
Why this is important
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NgOe1D
Mtdw
• Realities of response:
– Stopwatch of Death: one person shot every 15-20
seconds
– Average police response is 3-5 minutes
Rise in Active Incidents
• According to FBI, both frequency of AS events
and their lethality are increasing.
Factors associated with AS incidents
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88% experienced problems in their social lives
85% are socially isolated
54% experienced peer rejection
30% were bullied
30% experienced romantic disappointment
and,
• 43% experienced problems with teachers or staff
Source: “Bullying, Romantic Rejection, and Conflicts with Teachers: The Crucial Role of Social Dynamics in the Development
of School Shootings - A Systematic Review”, Friederike Sommer, Vincenz Leuschner and Herbert Scheithauer, Department of
Educational Science and Psychology, Freie Universitat Berlin
Published in: International Journal of Developmental Science 8 (2014) pp. 3-24
DANGER CUES
• Red/flushed face
• Vocal extremes (very
loud or soft)
• Heavy breathing
• Hands balled up as fists
• Standing in a bladed
position
• Protruding veins
• Pointing at chest
• Clothes in disarray
• Thousand mile stare
• Unaware of
surroundings
• Statements of sympathy
or understanding for
active shooter/violence
• Smell of alcohol or
drugs
• Invades personal space
What do NOVA stats tell us?
• There is significant conflict between
faculty/staff and students
• Precise assignment of blame is not important
• 2014: 819 CARE Team cases
– Concerning behavior (343); conduct/criminal (462)
– 94% of respondents were students (51% are less
than 25 years old)
• 40% reported by faculty
• Xx% reported by staff
How well are schools prepared?
• According to a 2013 Campus Security poll:
– Only 28 of schools provide crisis intervention
and/or verbal de-escalation training
– 55% of teachers surveyed are somewhat or very
disappointed with school safety and security
• NOVA’s record (since 2013):
– Active shooter response: 41 briefings to xx
persons
– Dealing with difficult people: 29 briefings to yy
persons
Sources of Problems and
Misunderstandings
Superior-Subordinate Relationships
• There is inherent conflict in every superiorsubordinate relationship
– People resent control
– Nobody wants to be the child in a parent-child
encounter
Different goals, priorities, and
experiences
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Faculty/Staff
Teaching as a calling
Work as a primary goal
Efficient management
Discharge workload,
often with inadequate
resources
Experience of age
Understand the system
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Students
Good grade
Secondary goal to job,
social life, etc.
Need to juggle school
work with job, family,
etc.
Young; often immature
Confused
Generational Differences
Baby Boomers (1946-64)
• Influential events
– Brown v. B of Education
– Mutual Assured Destruction
– Women’s Lib; the pill
• Values
– Value process
– Loyalty to organization
– Sacrifice
Generation X (1965-79)
• Influential events
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Latchkey kids
Man on Moon
Fall of Berlin Wall
Soaring divorce rates
Watergate
Internet
• Values
– Reject supervision
• Self-reliant
• Technology skills
• Work independently
– Experimentation (drugs/sex)
– Results-oriented
Generational Differences
Generation Y/Millennials (1980-99)
• Influential events
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Daycare as a way of life
OK City & 9/11 terrorism
2008 financial crisis
Personal computer as a home
appliance
– Email replaces snail mail
– Columbine etc.
• Values
– Equality of the sexes
– Environmentalism and
internationalism
– Social networking
– Accelerating technological change
Generation Z
• ???????
Face-to-face interactions:
Not so simple
• Words don’t tell the whole message
• React to the meaning, not the words
– Example: arrive on scene of a burglary
• It’s about time (the words)
• I feel violated and helpless (the meaning)
• People do not say what they mean.
– Words only constitute 7% of the message.
– The other 93% come from voice and other nonverbal indicators
What message are you sending?
Face-to-face interactions:
Not so simple
• “A frank and productive exchange of views.”
A picture’s worth a thousand words!
Sometimes, you don’t need words
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol6poJ6M
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Inter-cultural Communications:
You can’t always believe what you see or hear
• Personal space is influenced by:
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Gender: F/F stands closer than M/F
Status: higher status granted more space
Friendship: friends stand closer together
Available space: positions in elevator; at urinal
Experience: people from cities expect less space than people from
country
• Eye contact
– Latin America and Asia: respectful to avoid direct contact
with authority figures
– Muslims consider eye contact between members of the
opposite sex to be bold and flirtatious
– Arabs and Southern Europeans have more eye contact
than Americans; Brits have less.
Inter-cultural comms (cont.)
• Volume
– Baseline volume in Asia/Western Europe lower than in US
– Africa: soft voice is a sign of witchcraft, plotting or
malicious gossip
• Touch
– Latin Americans and Middle Easterners touch more
frequently than Americans
– ME and Latin men walk arm-in-arm; Russian and French
men kiss on cheek
– Japanese men do not like to be touched in a casual
relationship (vs. Reid technique)
– Middle East: never touch opposite sex (e.g., shake hands);
never touch with left hand.
– Asia: touching someone on the head is offensive
Inter-cultural comms (cont.)
• Silence: Americans (uncomfortable) vs. sign of respect in other
cultures
• Punctuality: Americans (sign of respect) vs. respect means
continuing a discussion, even if it makes you late for next meeting
• Never show soles of foot to Middle Easterner
• Hand gestures: thumb/forefinger circle, fist pump, and thumbs up
signs are vulgar in Iran, Latin America and Lebanon; hands on hips
indicates hostility in Mexico
• Use open hand to indicate height of person in Colombia
• Nodding up and down means ‘no’ in Bulgaria
• Inscrutable people: Scandinavians consider smiles and facial
emotions to be signs of weakness. Russians, Japanese and South
Koreans (in order) exhibit more facial control than Americans.
• Northern Europeans smile less frequently than Americans and
Asians smile to smooth over embarrassing situations
Face-to-face interactions
Not so simple
• Everyone is under the influence!
• We cannot adjust people’s attitudes.
– It’s arrogant, we don’t have the right, and we will fail
• Cool Hand Luke
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
We can only adjust how we interact.
2=6
• A face-to-face encounter involves multiple
interactions:
• You
– Real self
– Self as seen by self
– Self as seen by others
• Client
– Real self
– Self as seen by self
– Self as seen by others
Things You Should Never Say
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Calm down.
Come here You wouldn’t understand.
Because those are the rules.
What do you want me to do about it?
What’s your problem?
I’m not going to say this again!
Why don’t you be reasonable?
Have a good day (after returning a failing test)
You never…… or, You always……
You people……
Some tools
5 Universal Truths
All people want to be:
• Treated with dignity and respect.
• Asked rather than told to do something.
• Told why they’re being asked to do something.
• Given options rather than threats.
• Given a second chance.
Dealing with an angry individual
https://search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=Ah7Wxm
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What People Want
• Information
– E.g., Why did you stop me?
• Empathy
– Understand, even if we don’t agree
– Establish a bond of commonality
– But first, we have to listen
• “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen
with the intent to reply.” (Stephen R. Covey, Seven Habits of Highly
Effective People)
• Respect
– How we want to be treated under similar circumstances
Lose the Ego!
• The first zinger that comes to mind, though
satisfying, is the greatest speech you will live to
regret.
• 90% of all complaints come from tone, not actual
words.
- It’s not what you said, it’s ________________.
• Avoid “rope-a-dope”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sqh3LRbKYs
• Appear interested.
Truth is, you’re annoying the crap out of me!
(but I appear interested)
The Art of Representation
• We are only representatives; it is not about us.
• Our personal feelings and beliefs are irrelevant
obstacles to effective communications.
• Amateurs are ruled by adrenaline.
• Let others have the last word; you have the last
act.
Some additional tools
• Lose the ego.
• Understand your own triggers.
– Examples:
• I pay your salary; I was just….; I know your chief; I’m only
getting a ticket because you have a quota; campus cops
aren’t real cops…….
– Avoid the Niagara Falls moment
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYP1OBZfFK0
• Deflective phrases
– I understand you think this is unfair, but you still need
to do x because .....(reason).
• Listen
Some additional tools (cont.)
• Paraphrasing is a key tool:
– Sword of insertion: Hold on a minute. Let me
make sure I understand what you are saying.
– Actual paraphrase: You are saying you feel
(emotion) because (reason).
• Appeal to one’s sense of selfishness
– i.e., what’s in it for them.
Things you should say
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What can I do to help?
Would you assist me by ….?
Excuse me. May I have a moment?
That didn’t come out right. Let me start again.
I apologize (explain why you did what you did)
Thank you for your cooperation
Dean XXX would like to speak with you (ethical
intervention)
5-Step Interaction
(a good report format)
• Ask (ethical appeal)
• Set context/explain why (reasonable appeal)
• Provide options (personal appeal)
– Positive then negative options
• Confirm non-compliance (practical appeal)
• Act (if necessary)
Truth is, you’re annoying the crap out of me!
(but I appear interested)
Truth is, you’re annoying the crap out of me!
(but I appear interested)
Keeping yourself safe
WHAT TO AVOID
• Arguing with student
• Ignoring inappropriate
behavior/signs anger is
escalating
• Bargaining
• Giving in to inappropriate
requests
• Meeting alone or with
aggrieved and his friends
• Prolonged eye contact
• Showing fear
• Making promises you
can’t keep
• Confrontational body
posture (crossed arms,
hands on hips, standing
square to person)
• Touching, crowding
personal space, finger
pointing
• Losing access to door
• Ignoring gut feeling of
danger
OPTIONS
• Call for help (supervisor,
911, police)
• Move to area with
other people
• Check out history
before meeting
• Delaying tactics (offer
drink of water to allow
time to calm down)
• Ask for
recommendations
• Break large problems
into smaller problems
and offer options
• Referral
Remember…..
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Need to interact with individuals, not students.
A verbal interaction is like a dance.
We need to earn the respect of our subordinates.
Lose the ego.
It’s not about you. Know your weaknesses.
Watch your voice (tone, pitch, pace and modulation). It’s
what generates complaints.
Empathize.
Explain.
Don’t be complacent, protect yourself
Have fun; enjoy the challenge of difficult people.