Title Page. Project Title: Analysis of Averted School Shooting Rampages. Submission Date: March 30, 2012

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1 Title Page Project Title: Analysis of Averted School Shooting Rampages Submission Date: March 30, 2012 Applicant Information: Jeffrey A. Daniels, Ph.D. West Virginia University Department of Counseling, Rehabilitation Counseling & Counseling Psychology 504-E Allen Hall PO Box 6122 Morgantown, WV Telephone: (304) FAX: (304) Requested Funds: $2,600

2 Analysis of Averted School Shooting Rampages Project Abstract Following the rampage school shootings of the 1990s, much research was directed toward school shooters, with less attention given to averted shooting incidents. The exception, research by Daniels and colleagues (2010), studied four such events in detail. The purpose of this research is to study, on a larger scale, what school and law enforcement personnel did to foil attempts to commit school shootings in the U.S. The population served by this research includes law enforcement officers who work with schools (school resource officers) and educators. Data will include news accounts of each incident, police and school reports, and interviews with key law enforcement and school personnel involved in foiling the plot. Activities to achieve goals and objectives include both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the data generated for this study. Following analyses, deliverables such as conference presentations, peer-review publications, and training materials for the target population of this research will be developed. The primary goals of this research are to (1) discover the characteristics of averted school rampages in the U.S., and (2) discover the important trip wires that led to the plot being interrupted, discovered or terminated. Project Goals, Objectives & Deliverables This project includes two primary goals, six objectives, and 11 performance measures/deliverables. Table 1 includes each of these elements of the project. Connection to Professional Interests Following the Columbine tragedy many agencies studied the school shooter phenomenon, with the aim of discerning any possible patterns that could serve to warn educators of potentially troubled youth. Wholly absent from this literature was research on the events that had been averted. From a Counseling Psychology perspective, which emphasizes prevention and positive human functioning, I believe that while much of value has been learned from studying school shootings, just as much stands to be gained from analyzing violence that has been thwarted in this context. Thus, I have been engaged in the study of averted lethal school violence for the past eight years. My initial research on the topic of averted school violence was an exploratory study of the extent and scope of averted school shootings (Daniels, Buck et al., 2007). My students and I gathered news reports of averted shootings and conducted a content analysis of these articles. We presented the initial results at the American Psychological Association conference, and we later published our findings in the Journal of School Violence. Because of this work, I was invited to sit on the editorial board of this journal, a position I continue to hold. Following up on this preliminary research, my students and I then engaged in a qualitative study of averted school shootings. In this project I conducted on-site interviews of school personnel who had discovered plots and intervened to prevent a shooting/bombing rampage at their school. We analyzed the qualitative data using consensual qualitative research (CQR; Hill, Thompson & Williams, 1997), a standardized process of analyzing qualitative data within a team framework.

3 Table 1: Goals, Objectives & Performance Measures Goal Objective Performance Measure To describe the characteristics of averted school rampages in the U.S. that occurred from 2001 to 2011 Collect data and enter into database from news sources. At least 95% inter-rater reliability for assessments across five incidents. To identify the important trip-wires that led to the plot being interrupted or otherwise discovered and terminated, from school and law enforcement personnel who discovered and thwarted a plotted rampage school shooting. Quantitatively analyze data from news sources. Identify averted school shootings. Collect incident data. Analyze incident data. Distribute results of the research. Final descriptive analyses of all incident reports, across all identified variables. Conduct internet searches of averted shootings via Lexis/Nexis and Google until no new incidents from 2001 to 2011 occur. Contact police chiefs to solicit participants. Contact school administrators to solicit participants. Obtain incident reports from police and school administrators for up to 10 incidents. Conduct interviews of police and school administrators from up to 10 incidents. Qualitatively analyze the data until all interviews have been analyzed. Present results at the American Society of Criminology or American Psychological Association conference. Submit journal manuscripts to journals in (1) education and (2) law enforcement or psychology Submit the final report to PERC

4 Connection to Professional Interests, Continued Results were presented at national conferences and were published in the flagship journal of the field of counseling psychology, The Counseling Psychologist (Daniels, Volungis et al., 2010). The proposed project will expand this research in two important ways: 1. Data will be more comprehensive (triangulated), including news reports, police reports, and interviews with key school and law enforcement personnel. In this way, a more detailed picture of these events will emerge. 2. The scope of this study will be greater by including data on 10 incidents. In the earlier studied we interviewed 11 people across four events. Connections to PERC This project responds specifically to two of WVU s strategic plan, and hence, goals of the PERC. Strategic Plan Goal 1: Engage students in a challenging academic environment. Aside from PERG graduate assistance, at least one doctoral student in the Counseling Psychology program will aid in this research. Strategic Plan Goal 2: Excel in research, creativity and innovation. This research extends the cutting edge of empirically understanding averted school shootings, which may ultimately lead to enhanced education, safety, and law enforcement strategies. This project will enhance PERC by bringing national, and perhaps international, attention to WVU and the Center for innovative research that has practical applications for K-12 education. It will also enhance PERC by adding a faculty affiliate who has expertise in averted school violence and qualitative research methods. It is anticipated that this project will situate the PI and PERC for future extramural funding. Detailed Budget I am requesting $2,600 for this project. Please see the accompanying Budget Worksheet for details. Funding for this project will be used for materials and supplies and travel to present the results at a national conference. Materials and Supplies. I am requesting $1,000 to cover materials and supplies. Interviews of key personnel (police officers and educators) will take place online, via Skype. A subscription to call telephones via Skype is $3.00 per month, for 12 months ($36.00). The computer program, PowerGramo, will be used to digitally record the interviews ($36.00). Gathering police reports of each incident will require postage and copying costs. Because these reports are rather lengthy, I am budgeting $92.80 per incident to cover these costs (ncluding postage) ($928.00).

5 Participant Support Costs Travel. I am requesting $1,600 to support travel for the PI and one graduate assistant to present results of this research at a national conference (either American Society of Criminology or American Psychological Association). This will help to cover the costs of travel, hotel, and food at this conference.

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