Dozens of community partners gathered in Sudbury on Tuesday to sign the fifth edition of the Community Threat Assessment Protocol.
The protocol was created to prevent and respond to tragic events in schools.
Sudbury is one of the first regions in Ontario to sign the fifth edition of the protocol.
It was established more than two decades ago during a time when school shootings were on the rise across North America. It was introduced to Sudbury in 2011.
“It really is a process around how to, first of all, understand what data we should collect if somebody is moving on a pathway to violence -- how do I identify what the key risk enhancers are and then intervene to lower and mitigate the risk?” said Kevin Cameron, executive director of the Center for Trauma Informed Practices.
Threat assessment
“So it’s a high-end threat assessment and an intervention model.”
Anna Barsanti, the local violence threat risk assessment community coordinator, said the protocol seeks to identify an individual’s change in behaviour and connects them to the right supports if needed.
“Some of the things that we look for is, did they bring a weapon to school? Are they threatening to bomb? Have they created injury with animals?” Barsanti said.
“So anything that it’s on a pathway to violence. Because the shift in baseline may not mean towards a pathway to violence, but that’s what we specifically look for. And then we try to interrupt it with a circle of care.”
Since its inception, 33 partners have signed on across Sudbury, Manitoulin and Espanola, including school boards, police services, as well as mental health and community organizations.
Some spoke of the protocol’s overall effectiveness in reducing violence.
Do the preventative work
“You’re not only influencing the child that you’re working with, it’s actually their sphere, their friends, their community, their family,” said Sgt. Marc Guerin of the Greater Sudbury Police Service.
“(It) allows us to do the preventative work, our top work as actual police officers (and) we’re able to assist those that are hurting in our community, in the shadows.”
Cameron said the new version of the protocol includes a level of perceived risk to others and methods of helping neurodivergent individuals who display violent behaviours.
