An averted incident of school violence is a shooting or other planned violent attack that was prevented before any injury or loss of life occurred at the targeted educational institution. Since 2015, school personnel, law enforcement officers, mental health professionals, and others involved in school safety have been encouraged to share their averted school violence stories and lessons learned, in order to improve school safety and help prevent future tragedies.
“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 (ASV) 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. Both reports can be found here.
2021
- The National Policing Institute released an analysis of 170 averted cases that had been submitted, reviewed and added to the database. This report can be found here.
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. This move opened the door to enhancements and upgrades to functionality through the generosity of Michigan State University’s Prevent 2 Protect 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.