Description
Book SynopsisThis book tackles the important question of how we can understand and learn from the school rampage killings that have been prevented. In the flood of recent accounts and analyses of deadly school rampage killings that plague society and inspire widespread public fear, very little attention has been given to the incidents that almost were. Building on Madfis’ previous book, The Risk of School Rampage: Assessing and Preventing Threats of School Violence (2014), this vital work addresses key gaps in school violence scholarship through the examination of averted school rampage incidents in the United States and advances existing knowledge through ground-breaking insights from the latest research on mass murder, violence prevention, bystander intervention, disciplinary policy, and threat assessment in school contexts. This empirical study utilizes in-depth interviews conducted with school and police officials (administrators, counselors, security guards, police officers, and teachers) directly involved in averting potential school rampages to explore the processes by which threats are assessed and school rampage plots are thwarted. Madfis finds that many common contemporary school violence prevention policies and practices are ineffective at preventing rampage attacks and may actually increase the likelihood of their occurrence. Rather than uncritically adopting such problematic approaches, Madfis argues that schools must model prevention practices upon what has proven successful in averting potentially deadly incidents.
Trade Review“In addition to making an important contribution to the scholarly literature on the topic, the inclusion of discussion questions … as well as a methodological appendix, makes this book a useful resource for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. … How to Stop School Rampage Killing: Lessons from Averted Mass Shootings and Bombings is a timely and valuable piece of scholarship … it acts as a springboard for future research in this area.” (Erica Bower, Critical Criminology, Vol. 29, 2021)
Table of ContentsDEDICATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………..…………FOREWORD by Jack Levin ………………………………………………….……..FOREWORD by Kristina Anderson ………………………………………………....AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION…………………….
CHAPTERSI. INTRODUCTION ……………………………………………...….….….. Research Questions and Background on Incidents……………………Explaining and Reacting to School Rampage….………...…...……….Understanding School Criminalization and Risk Assessment...............
II. ASSESSING SCHOOL RAMPAGE ………………………………….…. Distinguishing Terms and Risks……………….……………...………The Assessment of Evidence in Averted Rampage…………………...Assessing the Plot’s Detail…………………………………………….Appraising the Role of Weaponry……………………………………..Assessing the Role of Personal and Group Characteristics……………Conclusion……………………………………………………………..
III. CONFIDENCE AND DOUBTS ABOUT ASSESSING RAMPAGE…… Certainty Based on a Convergence of Risk Assessment Criteria……...Certainty Based on a Lack of Threat Assessment Criteria…………….Certainty Based on a Presence of Threat Assessment Criteria………...Remaining Uncertainty despite Risk Assessment……………………..Conclusion……………………………………………………………..
IV. PREVENTING SCHOOL RAMPAGE ……………………...………….. Problematic Rampage Prevention Practices………………………….. A Diminished Student Code of Silence…………………………..……Interventions through Leakage………………………………………...The Persistence of Bystander Inaction…………………………….......Implications of Findings………………………………………………Conclusion……………………………………………………………. V. CONCLUSION …………………………………………….……………..Summary and Implications of Findings…………………………...….Emergent Areas to Prevent and Stop School Rampage Killing……….Suggested Areas for Future Research………………………………....
VI. METHODOLOGICAL APPENDIX…………...……………………….. Operationalizing School Rampage………………………………........ Research Design and Sample……………………………………...…. Complications of Media-Based Sampling Frame………………......… On Qualitative Methodology……………………………………...….. Generalizability in Qualitative Research……………………………...
REFERENCES ……………………………………………………………………….INDEX…………………………………………………………………………………
