The Role of the Bystander
A bystander can be a friend, teacher, family member or even a stranger. In the simplest term – a bystander is someone who knows something. Bystanders play a critical role in violence prevention in school, workplace and community settings. Violence can be prevented when communities identify warning behaviors and take steps to intervene (NTAC, 2021). To be clear, “steps to intervene” means reporting information and getting help.
This is not new. We have known about this for over 30 years. The research has concluded that the most effective way to prevent targeted violence is to understand, identify and report concerning behavior. Prevention does not include law enforcement on school campuses, security badges, cameras or any other methods to reduce casualties. Targeted violence prevention happens before a person attacks.
If an individual is on campus with a weapon with the intent to kill, then we have failed. Prevention is stopping that person from believing their best option or their only option is targeted violence. These attacks are never spontaneous and there are plenty of chances to intervene if you know what to look for and how to report it.