The Violence Project co-founder Jillian Peterson told Insider how threat assessment teams can help prevent school shootings, as well as prevent further tragedies like suicide, self-harm, and other forms of violence. "We really focus on things like safe, warm environments with strong relationships between students and adults so people feel more … [Read more...]
With schools returning to in-person learning, the threat of classroom shootings follows. Here’s how experts say we can prevent them from happening.
In a time of pandemic and riot, crime was up 15 percent in St. Paul last year
The Violence Project's Jillian Peterson spoke with Mara Gottfried about risk factors for violence. "Research shows that poverty, stress and mental health concerns — all amplified during the coronavirus pandemic — increase the risk for gun violence and homicides, Peterson said. At the same time, the pandemic has impacted face-to-face prevention … [Read more...]
In a year of pain, one silver lining: fewer mass shootings
As 2020 comes to a close, The Violence Project's co-founders once again spoke with Associated Press reporter Lisa Marie Pane for a recap of this year's lack of mass shootings. The number of mass shootings this year - two - is lower than it ahs been in over a decade. The decline in mass killings is “almost a natural experiment for the test of the … [Read more...]
US gun violence: too many people have died in 2020 – and COVID played a larger part than you think
"Recent reports here and elsewhere in the media have focused on gun violence in the US, reporting a dramatic rise in mass shootings in 2020 – despite the pandemic – which by November had overtaken the total for 2019. The term mass shooting conjures up images of Columbine and Parkland, but the story for 2020 is more complex." The Violence … [Read more...]
Virus Job Losses, Evictions Seen Risking Mass Attacks in Future
"Anxiety about the pandemic and continued shutdowns may tamp down public fears of mass attacks in public spaces when the economy reopens, said Jillian Peterson, an assistant professor of criminology and criminal justice at Hamline University in Minnesota and co-founder of the Violence Project. 'The other line of thinking, which I think to me is … [Read more...]