Welcome to The Averted School Violence (ASV) Project.
Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) convened a national school safety advisory group to provide recommendations on how to prevent future school shootings and other acts of violence on school campuses. One key recommendation stood out among the others: Build a national repository of cases where school violence was stopped before it occurred.
Based on these recommendations, the DOJ’s COPS Office allocated funding for the National Policing Institute (formerly the Police Foundation) to establish and maintain the Averted School Violence (ASV) database. From 2015 to 2023, the National Policing Institute built a strong foundation of research and reports that shaped school safety practices nationwide.
In 2023, Dr. Frank Straub, who previously served as the founder and director of the National Policing Institute’s Center for Targeted Violence Prevention, as well as ASV’s project lead, secured a new home for the database with Safe and Sound Schools — an organization founded from the same tragedy and on the same mission to protect every school, every student, every day. The transfer, improvement in functionality, and expansion of the Averted School Violence Database was made possible through Prevent 2 Protect, a Michigan Department of Education Pilot Project.
The ASV Project is also grateful for the financial support provided by the Motorola Solutions Foundation.
Frank Straub, PhD
Senior Director of Violence Prevention Research and Programs
“By studying averted school attacks, we can better identify failure points in safety systems, recognize promising policies and practices, invest wisely, and prevent future attacks.”
– Dr. Frank Straub, PhD
History of the Averted School Violence Database
2014
Following the Sandy Hook Shooting, the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) convened a school safety advisory group to provide recommendations on how to prevent future school shootings and other acts of violence on school campuses.
2015
Following recommendations from the advisory group – which included studying averted attacks – the DOJ’s COPS Office allocated funding for the National Policing Institute (formerly the Police Foundation) to establish and maintain the Averted School Violence (ASV) database.
2019
The National Policing Institute released two reports based on averted incidents. The first included a preliminary analysis of 51 averted school attacks and the second was a comparison of 51 averted attacks to 51 completed attacks.
2021
The National Policing Institute released an analysis of 170 averted cases that had been submitted, reviewed and added to the database.
2023
Dr. Frank Straub, who previously served as the the founder and director of the National Policing Institute’s Center for Targeted Violence Prevention, as well as ASV’s project lead, secured a new home for the database with Safe and Sound Schools. The transfer, improvement in functionality, and expansion of the Averted School Violence Database was made possible through Prevent 2 Protect, a Michigan Department of Education Pilot Project, and the Motorola Solutions Foundation.
2024
The Safe and Sound Schools’ ASV team is committed and ready to maximize the impact of this database on future school violence prevention efforts. Join our mission by anonymously and securely submitting an averted incident for review.