Statistically, school shootings are not a regular occurrence, but they are alarming tragedies that we all need to do our best to prevent. Is your agency collaborating with your school district to implement threat assessment programs?

Two decades ago, the Orange County Sheriff's Department in Southern California launched its School Mobile Assessment and Resource Team (SMART), a multi-discipline, threat assessment team that responds to incidents related to violence, threats of violence, possession and/or use of weapons, unstable behaviors, suicidal actions, or tendencies that pose a threat to others at K-12 schools. The team includes a mental health clinician to take part in the assessments and connect those students who need it with the appropriate resources. 

In this episode of Policing Matters, host Jim Dudley speaks with Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes about the team, which handled nearly 300 threat assessments and calls for service during the 2021-2022 school year. In addition to addressing threats, SMART also works to ensure school staff has the training to recognize the signs of a threat. To date, approximately 480 administrators and school site personnel have received this training.