Our Goals

Research consistently finds that perpetrators of targeted violence exhibited concerning behavior and/or communicated their plan to cause harm prior to their deadly attack. In most completed attacks, people noticed these concerning behaviors and communications, but lacked the tools to respond, including who to tell, how to tell them, and how to intervene. Using trainings and social media messaging, this project will provide information to the university and surrounding community about when and how to report concerning behavior to officials using Colorado’s Safe2Tell anonymous reporting system. The project will also strengthen the local systems for addressing those concerns through investigations, referrals, threat assessment, and threat management.

The project has five main goals: 

1. Education – deliver educational programming on the warning signs for radicalization to violence and targeted violence to CU Boulder and Boulder County groups, including students, faculty, staff, and religious groups, through a social media campaign and training.
2. Engagement – enhance the CU Boulder and local community’s engagement in and resilience against radicalization to violence and targeted violence through campus events.
3. Reporting & Response – deliver educational programming on Colorado’s Safe2Tell bystander reporting and referral system to CU Boulder and Boulder County groups through a social media campaign and training, while expanding CU Boulder’s use of the Safe2Tell bystander reporting and referral system for the prevention of violence.
4. Threat Assessment & Screening – enhance CU Boulder’s threat assessment and management capabilities.
5. Threat Screening – develop and pilot a threat lethality checklist with CUPD officers to provide a preliminary screening for the risk for violence with persons of concern.