Behavioral Threat Assessment Procedures
Wilkes University strives to maintain an environment that is safe from any kind of threats to the community. This requires a proactive community approach to behavioral threat assessment. If you feel that a member of the campus community (student, staff, or faculty) presents behavior or language that appears threatening to the health and safety of himself/herself or others, you should do the following:
- If a threat is imminent, call 911 followed up by a call to University Police (ext.
4999).
- Example: You see a campus community member walking on the quadrangle with a weapon.
- If you are uncertain about the immediacy of the threat, contact University Police
(ext. 4999).
- Example: A campus community member tells you that he saw another campus community member with a weapon.
- If the threat is viewed as less than imminent, please contact Dr. Mark Allen, Interim
VP Student Affairs at (570) 408-4103. Dr. Allen serves as the University’s point
of contact for the Behavioral Intervention Team.
- Example: A student writes something on his/her social media site that could be perceived as a threat to a member of the campus community.
- If you wish to report threatening behavior and want to remain anonymous, you can call the CARE line at (570) 408-2273.
Behavioral Threat Assessment Process
When a potential threat is reported to the point of contact (Interim VP Student Affairs),
he will determine the level of urgency and either refer the problem to the appropriate
University professionals to resolve (non-urgent) or assemble the Behavioral Intervention
Team. Members include: director of public safety; campus counselor; and one of the
following based on the nature of the threat: provost (faculty), functional vice president
(staff), or student affairs representative (students). Other professionals may be
included depending on the nature of the potential threat. The Behavioral Intervention
Team will gather information to make an informed and timely decision to resolve the
potential threat. Anyone who reports a potential threat will receive follow-up information
from the point of contact.
Once the potential threat has been assessed, the appropriate action will be taken
guided by University policy (i.e., emergency action plan, student discipline process,
involuntary suspension policy, etc.).
The Behavioral Threat Assessment Process is in place to proactively intervene before concerning behavior poses a real threat to the campus community. For it to be effective, all campus community members should err on the side of caution and report concerns to the appropriate campus resources.
