Observing pre-incident actions prior to assaultive behavior

• In Event: Campus Threat Assessment: Empirical Analysis of Problem Behavior, Reporting Patterns, and Implications for Community Policing

Abstract

Pre-incident behaviors (e.g., threatening and stalking) raise significant concerns for assaults. The current study explored the degree to which such behaviors predict physical and sexual assault on campus. Of the 1,075 students surveyed, 413 students (38%) reported viewing an individual engage in pre-incident behavior (e.g., assault). Of 413 students observing a concerning individual, 39 (i.e., 4% of the original sample) reported viewing physical assault, 46 (4%) reported viewing sexual assault, and 6 (1%) reported viewing physical and sexual assault. Participants were separated into those viewing physical assault (Group 1; n = 45), those viewing sexual assault (Group 2; n = 52), and those viewing pre-incident behavior but neither physical nor sexual assault (Group 3; n = 322). Most participants (n = 45; 84%) in Group 1 viewed pre-incident behavior in addition to assault. Repetitive unwanted face-to-face contact, physical following, threatening gestures, and threatening statements were seen significantly more often by Group 1 than Group 3. About half of participants (n = 29; 56%) in Group 2 viewed pre-incident behavior in addition to assault. No significant differences in pre-incident behavior observations were seen between Group 2 and Group 3. Implications for inform violence prevention efforts on college campuses will be discussed.

Authors

• Brandon Hollister, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Mario Scalora, University of Nebraska - Lincoln

• Sarah Hoff, University of Nebraska - Lincoln