To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. FROM REACTIVE TO PROACTIVE burning, etc.); threatening online postings on Facebook, MySpace, etc.;suicidal threats or attempts;stalking;relationship violence;or flat affect or extreme lack of responsiveness. Once an incident has been submitted, the system e-mails the members of the behavioral team, which includes faculty, administrators, representatives from student housing, counselors and, in some cases, campus security or local law enforcement, who are then responsible for reviewing all new incidents. A member of the team will then assign a priority level and automatically route the incident for assignment to a team investigator for follow-up. During the course of the investigation, the investigator may add his or her running comments and notes to the internal notes field, which is visible only to staff users with the appropriate permissions. Once the investigation is completed, depending on the nature of the inquiry, the case may be pursued further or, alternatively, set to “closed.” In this case, the person who originally reported the incident, if he or she has provided an e-mail address, will receive an e-mail notifying him or her of the status change to the incident. In the event investigators have reason to believe the incident marks a truly dangerous red flag or, based on other earlier reports, indicates a signal of seriously threatening activity, steps to modify behavior can be taken before situations escalate. The team uses what is called a “D” scale to measure mental healthrelated risk. It attempts to identify where emotional behavioral disturbances are positioned on a continuum ranging from Distress (signs of emotional trouble or turmoil), to Disturbance (clearly behaviorally disruptive;unusual and/or bizarrely acting;destructive;or apparently harmful or threatening to others), to Dysregulation/Medical Disability (suicidal thoughts, feelings or expressed intentions; hostility; aggression; relational abuse; or profoundly disturbed, detached views of reality). In addition to measuring the level of emotional disruption, behavioral intervention teams may employ a generalized risk threat assessment scale to judge the level of potentially violent and injurious acts. This scale moves from “mild risk,” where there is evidence of disruptive or concerning but unthreatening behavior, to “moderate risk,” where disruptiveness is more repeated, with possible threats. The next level is “elevated or severe risk,” where seriously disruptive incidents are escalating. In this case, students may be exhibiting clear distress and, more likely, disturbance. At the highest level, extreme risk is evident. The student is seen to be “dysregulated” (way off his baseline) or medically disabled. Threats have moved from vague to highly concrete, and are likely to be repeated or shared with multiple people. The content of the threat is more detailed, with possible reference to weapons, means and targets. The threatener may also often appear highly detached and dissociated from his or her surroundings. THEY’LL GET THE MESSAGE. ALERT FM™ allows emergency managers to send critical information to targeted recipients like citizens, businesses and first responders in seconds. This personal alert and messaging system transmits messages using the data subcarrier of local FM stations. It’s Reliable. It’s Affordable. And it’s available right now. So don’t let another emergency strike before contacting us today to find out how you can better protect your citizens with ALERT FM. Building a campus-wide support system Only a very tiny percentage of incidents, Bourgeois explained, trigger true red flags compelling immediate intervention in the form of mandated mental health assessment. Nonetheless, he said, should some clear indication of distress and risk be seen, the college will follow up. “Often—in fact, most of the time—it’s a very simple, very basic reaching out,” Bourgeois said. “Even something so simple as, ‘How is everything? Are you feeling OK?’ Sometimes we might find out a student’s upset or angry at something the university did. Perhaps we failed to register them in the right class, and no one down in the administrative office took their phone call. Often a simple contact will Register online today for exclusive online content and eNewsletters 1-866-869-5180 www.ALERTFM.com Homeland Security Today Magazine | May 2009 39