Psychology, Department of
ORCID IDs
Date of this Version
2016
Citation
Published in Journal of Threat Assessment and Management 3:3–4 (2016), pp 129–142. doi 10.1037/tam0000063
Abstract
Underreporting criminal activity to authorities can pose significant challenges, particularly within college campuses. Crime prevention teams have recognized the importance of reporting potentially concerning behaviors that may precede violent acts. However, reasons for reporting preincident behaviors have been understudied among college samples and failed to account for informal responses, such as talking to third parties or changing personal security features. The present study surveyed 1,075 students from a midwestern state university and evaluated their awareness of threatening or concerning behaviors on campus, response behaviors, and reasons for either acting on or failing to report preincident behaviors. Findings reflected reporting rates (12.3%) consistent with the scientific literature but revealed informal responding as the most common reaction to preincident behaviors (44.6%). Reasons for not taking action included a desire to be uninvolved and perceiving the situation as unlikely to be immediately dangerous. By contrast, those who reported preincident behaviors appraised the situation as immediately dangerous and likely to result in harm. Their most influential reason for notifying police or university authorities involved an awareness Underreporting criminal activity to authorities can pose significant challenges, particularly within college campuses. Crime prevention teams have recognized the importance of reporting potentially concerning behaviors that may precede violent acts. However, reasons for reporting preincident behaviors have been understudied among college samples and failed to account for informal responses, such as talking to third parties or changing personal security features. The present study surveyed 1,075 students from a midwestern state university and evaluated their awareness of threatening or concerning behaviors on campus, response behaviors, and reasons for either acting on or failing to report preincident behaviors. Findings reflected reporting rates (12.3%) consistent with the scientific literature but revealed informal responding as the most common reaction to preincident behaviors (44.6%). Reasons for not taking action included a desire to be uninvolved and perceiving the situation as unlikely to be immediately dangerous. By contrast, those who reported preincident behaviors appraised the situation as immediately dangerous and likely to result in harm. Their most influential reason for notifying police or university authorities involved an awareness
Included in
Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence Commons, Psychology Commons, Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons, Terrorism Studies Commons
Comments
Copyright © 2016 American Psychological Association. Used by permission. “This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record.”