School violence is on the rise in the United States. Other modern democratic nations have far lower rates of school violence than the U.S. Schools in the United States must conduct a threat/hazard assessment to identify and define the threats and hazards that could cause harm while complying with existing gun safety laws to lower and attempt to eliminate the rising levels of school violence. Every school shooting in the U.S. inevitably forces its way to the political arena, with the debate over gun rights going hand in hand with expected safety of students, faculty and staff at the many schools across the nation. However, the simple connection between guns and school violence is not as simple as saying “guns cause violence” or even “guns make us safer”.
The nature of the risk involved in school violence and the increasingly common school shootings is a multi-faceted issue. First, there is the mental imbalance encountered in most instances of school violence. Second, schools must deal with the ease of access to firearms across the country. Third, an unstable or violent home environment increases the likelihood of
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The nature of school violence and school shootings in particular is not something that can be corrected with a one-time, one size fits all technique. The risk assessment must be made continuously through the process of compiling and examining all available information concerning potential hazards and vulnerabilities. School violence prevention cannot wait until there is a gunman at the door, but must start long before small problems escalate into large-scale violence. School-based counseling and violence prevention programs have been proven to be extremely effective at teaching students how to resolve problems without resorting to violence. Prevention must begin early to be most