Community-Based Approaches to Prevention: A Report on the 2014 National Summit on Preventing Multiple Casualty Violence

Abstract:  The American public has expressed increasing alarm over incidents of multiple casualty violence. While the law enforcement community has progressed in advancing training in the tactical response to incidents, there are significant gaps in strategies aimed at preventing multiple casualty violence. To address this need, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers has collaborated with the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and the Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education to facilitate a series of national summits specifically focused on prevention. The third and final summit occurred in February 2014, bringing together subject matter experts from a wide range of disciplines positioned to help prevent multiple casualty violence, such as law enforcement, health care, law, social sciences, education, and academia. Over the course of the three-day summit, participants outlined the elements of a prevention toolkit adaptable to the needs of individual communities.