Community Threat Assessment Team

Babson College is com­mit­ted to pre­vent­ing vio­lence and support­ing the safety and well-being of the campus com­mun­ity.

Each member of the campus com­mun­ity is respons­ible for main­tain­ing and improv­ing campus-wide safety. Campus safety is enhanced through com­mun­ity members identi­fy­ing behav­iors of concern and report­ing those concerns in a timely manner. Early ident­ifica­tion of such concerns allows the College to inter­vene and address behaviors that are potentially threatening or disruptive to the learning, living, and working environment of the College.

The College has implemented the Community Threat Assessment Team, a group of coordinated individuals and departments with various expertise to focus on prevention and education surrounding the safety and security of the Babson College campus community.

Reporting Imminent Threats

Reports of threats will be handled confidentially to every extent possible. We rely on the community to notice and report potentially threatening or concerning behaviors or situations as soon as possible through the process outlined below. Anyone who believes that an individual has committed or may commit an act of violence, or there is an active immediate risk of threatening behavior, should immediately call the Babson College Public Safety Department at 781-239-5555 or 911.

Reporting Potential Threats

If an individual exhibits behavior that is of concern to you, or you believe may pose a threat, please contact the Public Safety Department at 781-239-5555. This information will be appropriately shared with the Community Threat Assessment Team. If you observe behavior of concern but are unsure whether the behavior constitutes a threat to self or others, you should report the information to the Public Safety Department at 781-239-5555 to give the College the opportunity to assess the situation and respond as needed.

Warning Signs

Identifying and reporting behaviors that could pose a threat to the campus, or an individual, are critical to ensuring a safe and secure environment for our students, staff, and faculty. There are many behaviors and circumstances that might indicate an increasing risk for violence, significant disruption to others, or that a person is in need of assistance. There is no comprehensive list of behaviors that pose a risk and they can manifest in many forms but some may include, not limited to the following:

• Attempts to harm or kill self
• Expressing suicidal thoughts
• Social isolation
• Changes in behavior
• Changes in academic performance
• Unexplained absenteeism
• Increase in alcohol or drug use
• Anxiety or uncertainty about family/relationships/situations
• Lack of energy or chronic fatigue
• Change in appearance/decline in hygiene
• Loss of job/income/relationships
• Disruptive behavior/irritability/abrasive toward others
• Depression or nervousness
• Identifying with other persons who engaged in past violence toward others
• Making statements that support the use of violence to resolve issues

The significance of any one behavior or circumstance often is difficult to determine. Therefore, the threat assessment process is designed to review the situation in the context of all of the facts that can be known.

Threat Assessment Team—Membership and Mission

The purpose of the Community Threat Assessment Team is to facilitate timely communication among campus departments about behavioral concerns related to faculty, staff, students, visitors, and other affiliated as well as nonaffiliated persons, in order to identify individuals in distress as early as possible.

Community Threat Assessment Team roles include: establishing policies and procedures that provide guidance for the safety of the community; establishing and communicating detailed reporting structures; case management through assessment and intervention; verifying that referrals are addressed; and providing ongoing education and training to the community. The team consists of representatives from the Offices of Public Safety, Student Affairs, Human Resources, as well as medical and mental health professionals as needed.