NCJ Number
187365
Journal
Journal of Police Crisis Negotiations Volume: 1 Issue: 1 Dated: 2001 Pages: 35-46
Editor(s)
James L. Greenstone Ed.D.
Date Published
2001
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article attempts to point out complications with crises requiring intervention as a result of changes brought about by various violent-problem causing events.
Abstract
The experience of school killings seems to be epidemic. Until recently, the Post Office was the venue for such senseless killings. The scenario is the disgruntled student or employee comes into the school or work place and suddenly starts shooting. The usual outcome is that the perpetrator kills himself or asks to be killed when caught. To this point, the perpetrators have all been male. Such murders or massacres leave a lot of victims in their wake, some dead and many grieving or suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. A crisis intervener must often deal with the question, “Why?” The intervener in a crisis has two objectives: reducing the trauma whenever possible, decreasing the impact of the stressful event; and employing the crisis situation to help those affected to both solve present problems and become strengthened in overcoming future problems with more effective approaches. When someone is called upon to intervene in a crisis, it is because somebody is in need, has a problem, or is under stress. Crisis intervention has never been easy, but as the society becomes more and more complicated, with economic problems, employment difficulties, changes in power structures, political infighting, international crises and murders, rapes, and ethnic cleansing, in the world faced by some young people who never developed a “Code of Conduct” such killings will continue. References