Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Victimization: The Key Characteristic of the Active Shooter

All criminal justice professionals should understand victimization. A currently Active Shooter or an individual in process of one of the phases of the Active Shooter has the mindset that he is a victim in some way. Logic does not have a role here.


The combination of being ashamed, embarrassed, humiliated, depressed, and angry all serve as fuel to the fire which motivates the Active Shooter over time.  It makes no difference if the victimization is real or imagined. It is very much real in the mind of a potential Active Shooter. Victimization simply serves as motivation and justification.


All information available about Active Shooters is relevant because it helps us understand them.  However, each incident is particular to itself. I conducted a study and wrote a thesis for my Masters about the correlation between crime and victimization. My finding was that victimization precedes criminality. The youth who participated in the study all indicated each was tired of being the victim so they acted out.  Once they acted out, all felt power and control never sensed previously.


Just as there are no born criminals, there are no born Active Shooters. Until each school system and university has a liaison officer in communication with the local law enforcement agency, the Active Shooter will continue to show himself. There must be a marriage between law enforcement and the Department of Education or University Police Departments.


In order to accomplish this, the following is needed:


·         Each school system can monitor and address non-criminal incidents in house.


·         Law enforcement will address criminal conduct.


·         At times, a local school or university may need to team up with law enforcement to take appropriate action together as one to offset the possibility of an Active Shooter incident.


Understanding what makes Active Shooters tick will help to keep officers (and civilian victims) standing.


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