Schools sign new Violence Threat Risk Assessment protocol

 

 

By Vicki Winger

 

Last Thursday was a major milestone for our schools and community. In less than a year, representatives of organizations that assist with trauma along with our schools attended both Level One and Level Two training for Violence Threat Risk Assessment. These organizations all came together for the signing of the completed protocol which can be implemented throughout our schools and local resources.

 

The organizations that make up the committee and signed the protocol are Living Waters Catholic School, Northern Gateway Public School, AHS-Addiction and Mental Health, Children’s Services, RCMP, Victim Services/Crime Prevention, Community Corrections (Probation), Woodlands County, Town of Mayerthorpe, County of Lac Ste. Anne, and Town of Whitecourt.

 

“Violence Threat Risk Assessment (VTRA) is fundamental to our community and is the collective goal of creating a safe and caring environment for our children and youth in our schools and community and reducing the risk and occurrence of traumatic or threatening events,” said a representative from Northern Gateway Public School. The collaborative efforts of these organizations resulted in the following statement. Together we are a stronger unit and a greater force against threats and trauma and a more cohesive, responsive support network for our children and youth.

 

Kevin Cameron, CEO for Canadian Centre for Threat Assessment and Trauma is the creator and founder of VTRA. The Columbine School shooting occurred in 1999. The Taber School shooting was eight days later. At that time, Cameron had been working for the Horizon School District as part of its crisis response team. Cameron was called in to deal with the aftermath of the Taber School shooting.

 

It was from there that the team started under the auspices of the Alberta Government to study the traumatic aftermath. Cameron states, “It was the trauma end, not the violence. However, the problem we found following Columbine and Taber was that many others threatened to copy the crime.” He felt that was the point where they needed to determine whether the threats were serious. Cameron wanted to create a checklist that everyone could use as a tool to determine the seriousness of a threat. He collaborated with the RCMP and travelled to the US and met with the FBI, Secret Services, and other agencies. During these meetings it was realized that the evolution of violence had to be targeted to understand the pathway that kids and others follow. It’s a broad model that can be used not only for the children in school but also those in family settings, domestics, and shelters to name a few. Northern Gateway Public School will be making this protocol public by way of letters and website postings.