DPS’ threat assessment team aims to identify, prevent campus risks
SU promoted the Threat Assessment and Management Team within the Department of Public Safety to address risks and prevent campus violence earlier this month. The team encourages students to recognize and report early danger signs. Leonardo Eriman | Daily Orange File Photo
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
In its March updates email, Syracuse University‘s Department of Public Safety highlighted the Threat Assessment and Management Team — a group of university professionals who work to prevent violence by identifying and addressing threats on campus.
The TAMT identifies people on or near SU’s campus who pose a threat, assists in addressing such threats and maintains campus safety to reduce violence, according to DPS’s website.
The Daily Orange has broken down how the TAMT operates.
The process
TAMT’s process first identifies people affiliated or unaffiliated with the university who have engaged in concerning behaviors against students’ well-being or stability, according to its website.
Once the team identifies such behavior, it conducts a screening to determine the incident’s priority and whether a full inquiry is needed. The team will then create and implement a plan to manage or monitor the threat.
The TAMT regularly meets to review evidence of threatening behavior and develop strategies, according to its website. The team also trains regularly to help maintain “best practices.”
In its confidentiality statement, the website states that information shared with the TAMT will only be disclosed to the people necessary to analyze and respond to the threat, unless a court of law is involved.
The members
The TAMT consists of an “interdisciplinary group of trained professional Syracuse University staff,” according to its website.
DPS Chief Michael Bunker and Sheriah Dixon, SU’s dean of students, co-chair the team.
Other departments represented include SU’s Counseling Center, Campus Safety and Emergency Management Services, Community Standards, Human Resources, Office of University Counsel, Student Experience, Student Outreach and Support and Student Title IX Case Management.
Safety tips
Its website encourages students to help keep campus safe by recognizing and reporting early signs of danger. It shares resources for students, including contacts for situations of threatening behavior and warning signs for violence.
The website also shares specific contacts for students to reach out to, depending on whether the threat is an emergency, a non-emergency or if they want to report anonymously.
Students can report non-emergent or imminent threats using the Threat Assessment Report Form, according to its website.
