Bystander Reporting Helps Prevent Mass Violence
These bystanders of bystanders are also vital to authority figures’ efforts to prevent mass violence, as they often assist bystanders in the decision to come forward – or, unfortunately, discourage such action.
It is essential that security professionals understand the people who report potential violence and understand the access to information these bystanders may have. A close family member in contact with a potential offender every day may hold different information than a spouse, a colleague, or an online stranger. Assessing the relationship that a bystander, or bystander of a bystander, has to the reported party may improve security professionals’ ability to triage and respond to threats of violence.
Understanding the wide variety of barriers that bystanders face when considering reporting may also help security professionals triage and prioritize reports of concern. A tip from a concerned mother who thinks she has tried everything to prevent her son from violence and now feels she must go to law enforcement is different from a tip from a stranger about a post they saw online by someone they don’t know; the stranger faces much lower barriers to reporting than the concerned parent. It is usually much more difficult for a close friend or family member to come forward, but once they overcome their barriers, their information often proves to be the most useful to authorities.
Ongoing education and awareness for security professionals and authorities in bystander reporting and barriers they face is imperative – and will contribute to preventing mass violence.
Questions for Security Practitioners to Ask Themselves:
1. What relationship does this potential bystander have to the person about whom they are concerned?
Are they a stranger, a friend, a family member, a peer, a coworker, an authority figure?
2. What is the context? Are they part of an organization or community? What has happened recently?
3. Is this person a bystander of a bystander (an indirect bystander)?
4. Does this potential or actual source of information describe specific concerning behaviors they are worried about?
5. Does this bystander report having taken steps to address their concern? Have they spoken with the person directly? Have they contacted other authority figure(s) or other bystanders?
6. Have multiple potential bystanders reported concerns regarding the same person? If so, how has the organisation or community reacted? What steps have been taken thus far?
Read More
Borum, R. & Rowe, M. (2021). “The Importance of Bystanders in Threat Assessment and Management.” Meloy, J.R. & Hoffman, J. (Eds.). International handbook of threat assessment (2nd ed.). (pp. 423 – 425). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?PublicationDocumentID=7906
Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2017). Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks. Washington, DC. Retrieved from https://www.fbi.gov/file-repository/making-prevention-a-reality.pdf
Independent Commission to Investigate the Facts of the Tragedy in Lewiston. (2024). Initial Interim Report. https://www.maine.gov/icl/sites/maine.gov.icl/files/202403/Commission%20Interim%20Report%203-15-24.pdf
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission. (2019). Initial Report Submitted to the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate President. https://www.fdle.state.fl.us/MSDHS/CommissionReport.pdf
Rowe, M. P.(2021). Bystanders: “See something, say something” is not enough.” Alternatives to the High Cost of Litigation, 39 (10), 153-165. Available at: https://mitsloan.mit.edu/shared/ods/documents?PublicationDocumentID=8121
Rowe, M. (2018). “Fostering Constructive Action by Peers and Bystanders in Organizations and Communities.” Negotiation Journal, 34(2), 137-163. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nejo.12221
Taylor R. R. Cilke is a crime analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU), Behavioral Threat Assessment Center. Mary Rowe is adjunct professor of Negotiation and Conflict Management at the MIT Sloan School, MIT. This article is published courtesy of the Center for Research and Evidence on Security Threats(CREST).
