Welcome to the e-learning course on 'Alarming Behaviour'
What would you do...?
This course contains some Dutch-language buttons. You'll find the English translation below:
What is this course about?
It can happen to anyone working in higher education: a student sends you an email saying that they are planning to commit suicide. Or in a fit of anger, a student threatens to commit violence or an attack.
Fortunately incidents like these don’t happen every day. But when they do, they can have a huge impact on both the student and the staff member. We have developed this course to help you recognise alarming behaviour, and learn how to deal with it and what your responsibilities are.
The course focuses on three categories of alarming behaviour:
- Behaviour that can lead to suicide
- Aggressive or violent behaviour
- Behaviour prompted by extremist ideas
Structure
This course includes three practice-oriented modules, each focusing on one of the categories of behaviour listed above. You can choose to do the entire course from start to finish or use the menu on the left to go directly to any module or page you want.
Duration
Each practice-based module takes about 20 minutes to complete. It will take you 2 to 2.5 hours to complete the practice-oriented modules and the foundation module.
Course for your educational institution
Click on ‘Downloaden (Download) /aanpassen (customise)’ in the main menu and choose ‘Kopieer arrangement (Copy course)’ to make a copy of this course in Wikiwijs and to customise it in your free Wikiwijs account. You can also turn on automatic updates so that any future changes will be added to your copy of the course.
Pieces of a puzzle...
The central message of this course:
As a staff member, you might only be seeing part of the larger picture. The behaviour you observe may not in itself be alarming, but it could be cause for concern in combination with signals that other people have picked up from a student. So don’t keep information to yourself. Share it with others.
To see how this works in practice, the course takes you through three stories. In short videos you’ll see teaching staff confronted by alarming behaviour from one of their students. They each deal with the situation in their own way. With these stories, we hope to show you that there is no set solution and that sharing information is crucial. First, the three teachers will introduce themselves:
NB: Click on this icon on the bottom right of each video to maximise the screen:
Alarming Behaviour
Is this alarming behaviour? It’s 1998. Two teenagers are making a home video. They use coarse language but laughing at the same time. Perhaps this is not alarming behaviour, but it might be cause for concern in combination with other factors.
In 1996, their parents found a blog in which the boys expressed their hatred of school and society in general.
Prompted by the blog, the local police applied for a search warrant, but never used it.
In 1998, the two boys were arrested for theft and were ordered to undergo therapy.
After they were arrested, the boys described in their blog their growing arsenal of weapons.
In journals and video tapes they also expressed their desire to carry out an even bigger attack than the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.
You probably know where this tragic story ends. On 20 April 1999, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold murdered twelve fellow students and a teacher and then committed suicide.
Fortunately, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold’s actions were aberrations. Perhaps this tragedy might have been prevented if all the pieces of the puzzle had been put together earlier. That is what this course is about: how to recognise alarming behaviour, how to discuss it with the student and, above all, how to share information both inside and outside your institution, to compile a complete picture of a situation.
Role of Higher Education
Why is it so important for higher education institutions to devote attention to alarming behaviour?
Paul Goossens, Integrated Safety and Security Manager at Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and member of the Integrated Safety and Security Management in Higher Education programme, explains why this is important as follows.
This e-learning course was created by the Integrated Safety and Security Management in Higher Education programme. In this programme a network of higher education institutions develops materials and organises meetings on safety and security issues to help institutions create the safest possible learning and working environment. For more information go to www.integraalveilig-ho.nl/english.
2. Why do I worry?
You work at a higher education institution, so you have daily contact with students. The majority complete their courses without any problem and enjoy their student years. But occasionally you encounter another type of student – one who immediately gives you the gut feeling that there’s something wrong. That’s what this second module is about.
Aim
The aim of this module is for you to learn what factors cause this gut feeling. You will learn to identify the signs that could indicate alarming behaviour (indicators) and what trigger events could lead to high-risk behaviour.
Structure
This module is structured as follows:
In the first part of the module, we show you three scenes depicting a situation between a student and a teacher. We ask how you would deal with this situation.
This module focuses on your ability to recognise indicators and trigger events that could lead to alarming behaviour. In the second part of the module we examine these factors in more detail and show how an indicator may be a cause for concern about one person, but not to another.
In the third part of the module we translate theory into practice by analysing a real case: the Manchester bombing by Salman Abedi.
Duration
The module takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
What would you do?
How to recognise alarming behaviour? Unfortunately, there are no checklists or flow charts to enable you to predict with certainty whether a person will begin displaying alarming or high-risk behaviour.
However, you can use your professional judgement to assess your own student or a student a colleague has a gut feeling about. Working in higher education, you will probably have developed good people skills. So first rely on your own instincts, and act accordingly.
Three stories
Three stories run like a thread through this course – recognisable situations which you might also have encountered. First watch the following three short videos.
The expert
In the videos above you see two students displaying both verbally and physically aggressive behaviour. What is the best way for you as a teacher to manage this situation? Where do you draw the line?
Indicators
Changes in a student’s behaviour will also be visible at school. We call these changes ‘indicators’. The first indicator is an obvious one: is the student falling behind? An unusual deviation from the norm could be an indicator. In 99.9% of cases there will be no cause for concern, but it is a good idea to talk to the student.
So, an indicator is a piece of the puzzle. And it can manifest itself in many different ways: the student is withdrawn, reads radical material, is interested in weapons or suddenly expresses himself in more extreme ways than usual.
You might identify only one of these indicators in your contact with a student. Taken separately, the indicators are perhaps innocuous, but if you had the complete picture, you might understand why you had a gut feeling about that student.
Overview
Indicators can manifest themselves in many different areas. There are no checklists that can predict with certainty that someone is radicalising, suicidal or intends to use violence against others. However, knowing what the indicators are can help you decide whether to act on your gut feeling and talk to the student or consult colleagues. Click on the image on the right for an overview of the most frequent indicators of alarming behaviour.
Cases
As an exercise, we present here two true stories involving two very different students. By clicking on the arrows you can see each of the indicators that various parties identified independently of one other. Decide for yourself what combination of indicators would have led you to talk to the students in each case.
Next step
How do you distinguish between a student who is simply having an off-day and a student who is displaying genuinely alarming behaviour? When should you start to worry, and above all, what should you do?
Trigger events
Imagine the following scenario. You have strong opinions about international conflicts and follow the news every day. Then one day a close relative dies suddenly and you lose your job around the same time. Are these experiences likely to lead to alarming behaviour? Probably not. But in combination with other factors, difficult experiences like these could trigger high-risk ideas or even actions.
Catalysts and triggers
Experiences of this kind are called ‘trigger events’. Triggers are experiences or occurrences in a person’s life that lead to further escalation or de-escalation on the pathway to violence. Catalysts accelerate these processes. The underlying causes of escalation are always related to psychosocial factors, but an actual event – a trigger event – is often decisive.
In the table to the right you can see the process our three students will undergo. Each student has their own pathway to violence and specific trigger events, i.e. points where they take the next step towards escalation or de-escalation. Click on the table to enlarge the image.
Three levels
Trigger events occur at micro (personal), meso (social group) and macro (national/international) level. The table below gives an overview of trigger events that frequently lead to further escalation or the possible use of violence:
Micro level
Meso level
Macro level
- Loss of employment
- Meeting a radicalised person
- Attack on ‘own’ group
- End of a relationship
- End of friendships
- ‘Adverse’ government policy
- Confrontation with death
- Encounter with propaganda
- International events
- Experience of racism/exclusion
- Joining a radicalised group
- Conspiracy theories
Causal factors
What lies at the root of alarming behaviour? Is every student who displays alarming behaviour exposed to the same causal factors?
Salman Abedi
From now on you will under no circumstances overlook any alarming behaviour, will you? You know all indicators and trigger events and you also know that even small changes may indicate alarming or even risky behaviour.
To make the theory on indicators and trigger events even more concrete, we will take you back to Manchester, May 2017. The day Salman Abedi blew himself up as people were leaving Manchester Arena following a concert by the American singer Ariane Grande. Twenty-three people were killed, including the attacker, and over 500 were injured.
By clicking on each jigsaw piece you will hear various people who knew Salman. Listen carefully to their stories and try to discover which indicators and trigger events you can identify:
Is everything really what it seems?
Starting to wear different clothes all of a sudden, travelling to Libya several times and showing deep resentment towards the government; these indicators and trigger events can certainly be indications of alarming behaviour.
But is it all so obvious…? In hindsight, it seems easy to see and all alarm bells should have gone off long ago, shouldn’t they? But even Salman’s relatives had not seen this attack coming…
3. How do I discuss alarming behavior with the student?
In the previous module, we focused on recognising alarming behaviour. What tools do you now have to help you bring your concerns into the open, and discuss them with both the individual student and the class? How do you identify this behaviour and make sure the right people are informed, so that appropriate action can be taken if necessary?
Module 3 deals with discussing concerns about alarming behaviour.
Aim
The aim of this module is for you to learn how to discuss your concerns about alarming behaviour with others. To do that effectively, it is important to understand responses and behaviours within street culture. This module teaches you how to gain the trust of a student who is displaying alarming behaviour. You’ll also be given tools to help you start the dialogue, with both the individual and the class.
Structure
This module is structured as follows:
In the first part of the module, we show you three scenes in which a student and a teacher are conversing. Each scene has a specific theme. Think about how you would respond in a similar situation.
This module is about bringing concerns about alarming behaviour into the open and talking about them. The second part covers street culture. This will help you engage more effectively with your students and understand specific behaviours that may seem strange to you. We also provide tools to help you start the conversation.
In the third part of the module we translate theory into practice by analysing a real case: the story of three students who committed suicide.
Duration
This module takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
What would you do?
Recognising alarming behaviour is one thing, bringing your concerns into the open is another. It is important to share your concerns with various parties so that they can take adequate measures to address the behaviour.
Three levels
Concerns about alarming behaviour can be discussed at three levels:
The institution
The classroom
The individual student
Three stories
We continue the three stories started in the previous module with students and teachers talking about various themes. Listen to the conversations and try to put yourself in the teachers’ shoes.
The experts
One of the students in the videos is contemplating suicide. As a teacher, what should you do?
Street culture
Manifestations of street culture are becoming increasingly common in schools. To decide whether specific behaviours can be described as alarming, or whether they may just be part of the student’s street culture, it is important to know what that culture entails.
Street culture versus school culture
Street culture is a youth subculture or counterculture in which young people identify with norms and values, behaviour and habits that tend not to correspond with the norms, values and expectations of school culture. More and more of these young people are entering higher education. Street culture is not by definition disrespectful, but certain ways in which young people express themselves and build relationships are not what we’re used to at school.
Young people who are part of street culture will only accept correction or admonishment from someone they have a bond with. What a teacher might regard as antisocial or strange behaviour might be quite normal within street culture. In such cases, the students concerned need to learn that the way they interact with their peers outside school is different from the way they are expected to interact at school.
Mutual incomprehension
Read the following passage:
A student at a school for secondary vocational education in Almere flew into a rage when she thought that the departmental secretary had looked at her too intently and for too long. ‘Why are you staring at me?’ she screamed across the corridor. The situation got so out of hand that the secretary, who had no idea what she had done wrong, went to talk to the course manager because she felt threatened.
Then the student’s mother got involved and made a series of threatening phone calls to the course manager, claiming her daughter had been treated unfairly. The manager’s observation that the student wouldn’t be able to behave like this when she started work made no impression whatsoever. She had been treated unjustly, full stop.
Eventually the secretary and the student were able to talk over and resolve their differences, and the girl realised that relationships at school were different from those on the street.
Source: Margalith Kleijwegt, 2 werelden, 2 werkelijkheden (2 worlds, 2 realities), published by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
Gain trust
Some might say that the truth is the truth and students have the right to believe in conspiracy theories. But in these cases you really need to know what you’re doing, because it’s the thin edge of the wedge if all truth is relative. In practice, this is generally not the best way to gain your students’ trust, while gaining their trust is essential. How do you do that?
Reliable, committed professional
If you want to be a committed professional who your students can rely on:
communicate your norms and boundaries clearly;
be open about your concerns and discuss them at an early stage;
where possible, let your students know about contacts with other professionals;
and where possible, speak to, not about, the student in question.
The next page deals with the fourth point, talking to the student.
Start a conversation with the student
It may not be easy to talk to an individual student, but it could make a big difference. If you’re concerned about a student, keep the lines of communication open with him or her. For example, don’t be afraid to ask what’s wrong if the student starts missing classes. But always make sure you are well-prepared.
Preparation
Here are some tips for preparing a conversation with an individual student:
Be yourself, and don’t prejudge the outcome.
Use the knowledge you already have of your students’ world. It is often more extensive than you think.
If you feel that you know too little about this world, consult the sources listed in module 6.
But no matter what, talk to your student. If necessary ask them to tell you about their world.
The converation
A difficult conversation conducted properly proceeds for example as follows:
Start by trying to understand rather than trying to make yourself understood
Establish a connection:
- Your conversation partner is not a ‘case’ but a person with hopes, expectations, problems and interests;
- Who is he/she? What is his/her story?
Show interest and be patient.
Avoid attempts at persuasion, moralising, judgment and rejection.
Set boundaries and identify risks.
Finally, here are two interesting tips for engaging with a student:
Leave your attitudes, opinions and assumptions at home, since they are likely to unduly influence the start of the conversation and colour the information you are given.
Be aware that you cannot solve every problem. As a teacher your influence only goes so far. Share your experiences with colleagues, and know your limits.
Start a conversation with the class
Many teachers are reluctant to discuss difficult subjects in class. Students sometimes express alarming opinions about current events and are overly inclined to spread conspiracy theories. However difficult it may be, it is important to talk about these things – with the class as a whole and with individual students.
With the class
When you talk about controversial issues with your class, it is important to think about how to communicate with young people. Your aim should be to stimulate dialogue, not to dominate the conversation. You might be tempted to debate with your students, but then you run the risk of giving too much weight to winning the argument and too little to the substance of the issue.
Difference between a dialogue and a debate
The table below lists the main differences between a dialogue and a debate:
Tips
Do you sometimes find it difficult to discuss controversial issues with students in a classroom situation? ROC TOP regional training centre and Halima Maakoul, a teacher at Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, have the following tips and guidelines for you:
Suicide does not only occur among youngsters with highly visible problems. Often, the news of a suicide is completely unexpected for the bereaved. In hindsight it usually turns out there were many signals. A sudden decline in study results, less social contacts or alcohol or drugs problems.
Separately, these are no immediate cause for concern, but still alarming if everything added up (and in hindsight). Have a look at the stories below, in which the bereaved recount the suicide of a friend or relative. Next, try to answer the three questions, to get a picture of the range of this type of alarming behaviour.
What can you do if your talk with the student has not resolved your uneasy feeling? Who should you approach within your institution, what information should you share and where does your responsibility end? That is the subject of this fourth module.
Aim
The aim of this module is for you to learn how to make discussion of a student’s alarming behaviour possible within an organisation. This is not a formal process in every educational institution, and where it has been formalised, approaches vary widely. The guidelines in this module are therefore fairly general.
Structure
This module is structured as follows:
1. In the first part, we show three scenes in which two members of staff talk to each other about dealing with alarming behaviour. How would you deal with it within your organisation?
2. This module centres on generating awareness of the scope you have to share information on a student within your institution, and where it ends. The second part of the module deals with what you should and should not do, and where you should draw the line.
3. In the third part of the module, we translate theory into practice by analysing a real case – student Tarik Zahzah, who forced his way into the studio of Dutch public broadcaster NOS.
Duration
This module takes 25 to 30 minutes to complete.
What would you do?
You’ve talked to the student, but you still feel uneasy. What should you do? Of course, if there is an imminent threat you should phone the emergency services. Fortunately, though, this is rarely ever necessary. The logical next step is to discuss your observations and feelings with a colleague.
Share, share, share
For example, talk with a colleague who you know has a good relationship with the student. He/she may be able to put your feelings into perspective, and together you can decide whether further action is needed. In addition to encouraging colleagues to consult with one another, some organisations work with ladders of escalation, specifying who you should talk to at what stage.
The main message here is not to keep your suspicions of alarming behaviour to yourself. Share them with others. There are many ways to go about this:
Change of attitude
To start with, a change of attitude is a crucial sign. Many teachers and student advisers don’t consider it their task to flag matters like these, let alone share their concerns with others. The reason they often give is that this is not the school’s responsibility, or that they are not trained for the task. But there is a long list of staff members who can pick up warning signs:
Study coaches
Teaching staff
mentoren
Tutors
Counsellors
Receptionists
Caretakers
Confidential advisers
Invigilators
The experts
How do you deal with alarming behaviour? Is the first step the same for every student, or are there specific actions that you can take? Our experts give the following advice:
Pieces of a puzzle...
A violent offence, a suicide or an attack sometimes seems like a lightning bolt, out of the blue. Yet experience shows that a certain type of planning and thinking goes into all of these acts. You only see the entire picture once all the pieces of the puzzle are put together. Only then do you see what led your student to take this course of action.
Different picture
In their interaction with a student, individual staff members may see only one piece of the puzzle. Each piece may in itself be innocuous, but when you put all the pieces together a completely different picture emerges. Be aware that:
You should share every piece of the puzzle that might be significant. Don’t keep things to yourself.
It’s not your responsibility to put all the pieces together.
Information-sharing is organised differently from institution to institution.
Three pieces of the puzzle
In the three stories you have been following in this course, you have seen that different people know different things about a student. The work placement supervisor, fellow teaching staff, receptionists or counsellor may all have different pieces of information. Listen to their accounts of their experience:
Tutor
Student psychologist
Internship supervisor
Police
The police may also have several pieces of the puzzle. Police researcher Frank van Riet describes briefly how the police respond to reports of alarming behaviour, and how they try to share with schools the pieces of the puzzle they have.
Ladder of escalation
What should you do if your first talk with the student doesn’t lead to a solution? Or if there is an imminent threat calling for immediate action? Then it is important to know what steps have been agreed in your organisation, and which escalation process should be followed. The steps to be taken and your role in the process are set out in what we call a ‘ladder of escalation’.
Ladder of escalation
There is no need to learn the entire process by heart. But when you recognise alarming behaviour or perceive an imminent threat, it is crucial that you know the answers to the following three questions:
What steps can and may you take?
Who can and may you contact to discuss your concerns?
Where does your responsibility end in the event of an imminent threat: when and to whom should you transfer responsibility for a student?
The escalation process will be organised differently from institution to institution. That’s not a problem in itself. What matters is that the process is organised, so that you know which steps you may and may not take.
To the right you will see an example of a clearly defined ladder of escalation. Click to enlarge it, then try to answer the following questions.
The expert
Take another good look at the three questions at the top of the page. If you’re not sure what the right answer is for a person in your job, we’d strongly advise you to discuss the subject within your organisation. In the event of alarming behaviour or an imminent threat you will then know exactly what to do.
Privacy
Through digitisation in education, privacy is becoming an increasingly significant issue. What information are you allowed to share, when are you allowed to share it, what are you not allowed to share and what are you required to share?
The slides below examine the main aspects of privacy in dealing with students displaying alarming behaviour. We understand that this is a lot of information, but it is very important. We advise you to study the slides several times. Take the test at the bottom of the page to see how much you remember.
Although privacy is regulated at European level, the above slides are based on Dutch legislation.
Tarik Zahzah
On 29 January 2015, a young man with a gun in his hand walked into the building of Dutch public broadcaster NOS in the Media Park in Hilversum. He handed a letter to the doorman in which he demanded air time so that he could warn the nation of a dangerous conspiracy. Five minutes later, the young man, whose name was Tarik Zahzah, was overpowered and arrested by the police.
Who was Tarik? What signs were there that he was planning to carry out this action? In this last exercise of the three practice-oriented modules, we challenge you to try to identify – without prior information – every possible indicator of alarming behaviour.
All of these options come directly from Tarik’s life. And each one on its own is relatively innocuous, although there are two indicators in particular that could have prompted a talk. Click on the link below to read Tarik’s life story and see for yourself just how ordinary he seems.
We have designed this course from the perspective of a staff member at an institution of higher education. A logical focus, but it omits the perspective of the other main character, the student.
The last page of this module is therefore for our three students. How did they experience the situation, and how did it end for them? Behind every aggressive act, behind every hint at suicide, and behind every extremist utterance there is a story. Sharing these stories helps create mutual understanding, and understanding can lead to solutions.
Ending
The students we followed in this course are at various stages of recovery. They still need help, as is often the case with students who display alarming behaviour. In the videos below they tell their stories several months after the confrontation at their school or university. Each of them has had or is currently undergoing treatment or counselling:
Lucas
Anne
Joël
5. Theory of alarming behavior
In this module we provide comprehensive information on what alarming behaviour is and where it can lead, in extreme cases.
Aim
The aim of this module is for you to learn what alarming behaviour is and where it can lead. The module provides a theoretical foundation.
Structure
In this module we examine two real-life cases: the stories of Anders Breivik and Thomas Mair. Two stories with differences and similarities. Two stories that end violently.
We follow the two men through all the stages leading to their actions. We show how the process unfolded in the case of Anders Breivik and challenge you to finish the story of Thomas Mair. The aim is to gain an understanding of how, in these cases, alarming behaviour led to acts of violence.
Duur
This module takes 15 to 20 minutes to complete.
Pathway to Violence
Two seemingly normal men, Anders Breivik and Thomas Mair. But their deeds were anything but normal. This module tells you their life stories, so that you can discover what constitutes alarming behaviour, and its causes and possible consequences.
Breivik and Mair
In this module we follow the pathways to violence of Breivik and Mair. The pathway to violence model outlines the steps towards an act of violence inflicted on others, like an attack, or an act of self-inflicted violence, like suicide. Click on the image to enlarge the figure.
Two life stories
You can see that an act of violence usually starts with a grievance or frustration. That is also the case in the life stories central to this module. We follow the two men from the origin of their grievances to their ultimate acts of violence.
We show you each step of the process as it unfolds in the case of Anders Breivik. To involve you actively in the subject matter, we challenge you at the end of the module to fill in the steps in Mair's process, using the sources provided.
Grievances
What grievances or frustrations were at the root of Breivik's actions? And how were they visible? What indicators of potentially alarming behaviour did he display? To explore this, we’ll start at the end of his story.
Anders Breivik
On 22 July 2011 at 3:26 P.M. Anders Breivik set off a bomb in the government district of Oslo, Norway. Eight people were killed. Two hours later he shot 69 people on the Norwegian island of Utøya. Use this link to see a BBC summary of the day. In retrospect, there had been many signals that could have been picked up by a variety of organisations. You will hear some of these signals in the following news report:
Grievances/frustrations
In conversations with relatives and friends Breivik regularly indicated that he feared an ‘invasion of Muslims’, for which he held liberal politicians responsible. As the above report indicates, this idea may be explained by the rapid increase of (Islamic) migrants in Oslo between 2000 and 2010.
Indicators
Is an intense aversion to islamic immigrants and liberal politicians a reason for concern? Probably not. But in this case it must be viewed in combination with other indicators from Breivik's life.
Breivik had started several companies that all went bankrupt;
He had little contact with peers;
When he was 27, he moved from a wealthy neighbourhood in Oslo back to his mother in the poorer part;
He claimed to be the founder of an extreme right group;
He had a preference for weapons and owned a number of them;
Six months before the attacks he became the focus of the police when he purchased Polish chemicals.
Here, too, several pieces of a jigsaw puzzle seem to be present. In this case too, the challenge is to make sure these pieces fit together as soon as possible, to get a complete picture of the risks.
Ideation
"I have to do something!" This appears to be the feeling that generally leads to the next step on the pathway to violence, ideation. While most people are able to shake off their grievances or frustrations fairly easily, a few individuals are unable to do so. An idea takes hold in their mind, and they find it increasingly difficult to let it go.
Factors
Why is it that some people proceed from ideas to action and others don’t? The causal factors are nearly always psychosocial. They include:
- Psychopathology (mental illnesses and disorders), and care avoidance;
- Social circumstances (loneliness, participation in extremist groups, recruitment);
- Trigger events (divorce of parents, death of a parent, unemployment).
Breivik described the ideas he used to justify his acts in a 1,500-page manifesto. These ideas are described in this fragment:
The entire manifesto of Anders Breivik can be read using this link. On page 15 of this manifesto, Breivik briefly describes the background of his ideas and his desire to spread these ideas further.
Research / planning
The next stage on the pathway to violence is planning and preparing the eventual action. At this point, alarming behaviour begins to evolve into high-risk behaviour, which becomes increasingly difficult to stop from this stage. The ideas crystallise: the individual investigates how others carried out similar plans, and sets out a timetable.
Protective factors and risk factors
Whether alarming behaviour evolves into high-risk behaviour and an individual begins planning actions depends on the protective and risk factors in that person’s life. These factors can indicate the extent to which an individual is likely to display high-risk behaviour.
There is a greater risk if someone has few protective factors and many risk factors personally and in his social network. Neither can a sharp dividing line be discerned when alarming behaviour actually turns into risky behaviour. Click on the image to the right to see an overview of frequent protective and risk factors.
Planning
From later interrogations, the manifesto and Breivik’s online activities we know that between 2006 and 2008, three to five years before the attacks, he started planning his actions. In this article you can read about this phase in the course of Breivik’s pathway to violence in more detail. The video below shows a brief summary of this process:
Preparation
The next stage is preparing the action. It makes no difference whether the act of violence is inspired by left-wing, right-wing or religious extremism or other violent ideology, a certain degree of preparation is needed. Even suicide requires some preparation (for example, acquiring enough medication for an overdose).
Farm
Breivik’s actions during the final period before the attacks seem to indicate a solid preparation. He moved to a farm outside Oslo to prepare the bomb. He told his friends and relatives that he was starting a new life as a farmer. It all turned out to be part of the plan…
Vulnerable person
So Breivik has arrived at the stage where he is seriously preparing an act of violence. This in itself is an offence. Let’s take a look at all the elements that could have played a part in the process up to this stage. Click on the figure to the right for an overview.
You see here a combination of psychosocial problems and grievances. When there are too few protective factors and too many risk factors in the life of someone like Breivik, certain trigger events can prompt the individual to move further down the pathway to violence. That is what happened in this case.
Execution
22 July 2011, around 3:26 P.M. Anders Breivik positioned his delivery van filled with explosives between government buildings in the centre of Oslo. The bomb killed eight people. An hour and a half later he arrived at the island of Utøya. This was the beginning of the deadly end of a long process that had started with alarming behaviour and ended in 77 people being killed.
Conclusions
What can we learn from the story of Anders Breivik? This is what the police report says.
There was probably a long build-up, with indications that he was already actively preparing the attack in 2006 and maybe even as far back as 2002;
There were no indications of mental illness, such as a depression or schizofrenia;
There were many other signals, but people in his immediate environment were insufficiently aware of them. The police could have played a preventive role. But the thorough preparation by Breivik meant that he was not on their radar.
The report also points out that the pathway to violence model must be regarded as a snapshot. You cannot use it to predict acts of violence, but only as an aid in analysing a possible threat.
Thomas Mair
On 16 June 2016, Jo Cox, the British Labour Party Member of Parliament for Batley and Spen, died after being shot and stabbed multiple times in Birstall, West Yorkshire. The perpetrator was Thomas Mair, a 52-year-old local. After the murder he said that he was motivated by Jo Cox’s support to the European Union and its lenient immigration policy.
In this module we analysed the steps on the ‘Pathway to violence’ of …. It is up to you to fill in these steps for Thomas Mair as well. First, view the video below on the murder of Jo Cox:
Radicalisering
Thomas Mair became radicalised to the extreme right. But there are more types of radicalisation. How can you deal with that as a teacher?
Quiz
In this module you have experienced how alarming behaviour by two individuals from two very different backgrounds can escalate and culminate in an attack or membership of a violent group or network. These are just two examples. In the three practice-oriented modules we dealt with cases of students displaying alarming behaviour in the form of politically-motivated violence, a suicide threat and aggression caused by a psychological disorder.
Working together on prevention
Fortunately, these are exceptions. By being aware of the signs and knowing how to deal with them, you, as a staff member at a higher education institution, can help us prevent alarming behaviour culminating in an act of violence. To test how much you already know about alarming behaviour, we challenge you to complete the quiz below. Good luck!
6. Do it yourself
‘Students are the urban professionals of the future. They need to combine monodisciplinary, specialist knowledge and skills with extensive 21st-century multi-disciplinary, meta-cognitive skills. This is what Bildung means today.’
Jet Bussemaker
Former Minister of Education, Culture and Science
Bildung
The German word Bildung refers to the broad personal education and development of students into conscious, committed individuals. In developing a new syllabus or minor or optional subjects underpinned by Bildung, it is essential to consult reliable theoretical sources.
Now that you have completed this course, you may want to develop teaching materials of your own (on alarming behaviour). Experience shows that the subject combines well with a focus on fundamental rights, inclusion and diversity, but you can of course decide for yourself.
During training courses, we see that teachers experience the same problems in dealing with these issues as they experience in dealing with alarming behaviour. We therefore recommend preparing future professionals for work situations in which they are likely to be confronted by these issues.
In this module we provide a large number of sources with which you can set to work. Some of the ISDEP videos, which can also be accessed through this database, show interviews with adherents to various ideologies. There are also scripted reality videos (including ‘Anna’s World’ and ‘Michael’s Story’) and interviews with experts. We also include an example of a guide for an optional training course for students.
You’ll see that there are many theories about alarming behaviour, including radicalisation. This has become a major social issue in recent years. We also present theories on migration, polarisation, suicide and aggression, which are in principle meant to be used to develop practical teaching materials. If we have missed out sources you believe other teachers could benefit from, please let us know so that we can continue to expand our current database.
Design a lesson
If you want to put together a lesson or programme on alarming behaviour, the guide below provides a useful starting point. You will find guidelines on structuring lessons and on distributing subjects between them.
To show you how pieces of the puzzle can be found in many different places, we present the case of Michael, who changed his name to Abdullah. In the exercise below, you can see that the pieces of the puzzle can be found at school but may be even more evident elsewhere.
Anecdotes
Click on the links for three real-life situations experienced by Halima Maakoul. These anecdotes use practical experience to explain how to deal with students who express extremist views or how to talk with a class about attacks and terrorism.
Het arrangement Alarming Behaviour is gemaakt met
Wikiwijs van
Kennisnet. Wikiwijs is hét onderwijsplatform waar je leermiddelen zoekt,
maakt en deelt.
Dit lesmateriaal is gepubliceerd onder de Creative Commons Naamsvermelding-GelijkDelen 3.0 Nederland licentie. Dit houdt in dat je onder de voorwaarde van naamsvermelding en publicatie onder dezelfde licentie vrij bent om:
het werk te delen - te kopiëren, te verspreiden en door te geven via elk medium of bestandsformaat
het werk te bewerken - te remixen, te veranderen en afgeleide werken te maken
voor alle doeleinden, inclusief commerciële doeleinden.
This course is a production of the Integral Safe Higher Education program, with the cooperation of the National Training Institute combating radicalization, Flooow (e-learning production) and Zelfspot (audiovisual productions). For the compilation of this course, use was made of train-the-trainer material from NCTV and ISDEP (Improving Security Through Democratic Participation), adjustments aimed at higher education and proprietary material.
All information about existing persons is based on public sources.
Van dit lesmateriaal is de volgende aanvullende informatie beschikbaar:
Toelichting
Deze cursus is een productie van het programma Integraal Veilig Hoger Onderwijs (opdrachtgever), met medewerking van het Rijksopleidingsinstituut tegengaan radicalisering, Flooow (e-learning productie) en Zelf-spot (audiovisuele producties). Voor vragen over deze e-learning kun je contact opnemen met het programma Integraal Veilig Hoger Onderwijs via info@integraalveilig-ho.nl.
Alle informatie over bestaande personen is gebaseerd op openbare bronnen.
Leerniveau
WO - Bachelor;
WO - Master;
HBO - Master;
HBO - Bachelor;
Deze cursus is een productie van het programma Integraal Veilig Hoger Onderwijs (opdrachtgever), met medewerking van het Rijksopleidingsinstituut tegengaan radicalisering, Flooow (e-learning productie) en Zelf-spot (audiovisuele producties). Voor vragen over deze e-learning kun je contact opnemen met het programma Integraal Veilig Hoger Onderwijs via info@integraalveilig-ho.nl.
Alle informatie over bestaande personen is gebaseerd op openbare bronnen.
Changes in a student’s behaviour will also be visible at school. We call these changes ‘indicators’. The first indicator is an obvious one: is the student falling behind? An unusual deviation from the norm could be an indicator. In 99.9% of cases there will be no cause for concern, but it is a good idea to talk to the student.
Imagine the following scenario. You have strong opinions about international conflicts and follow the news every day. Then one day a close relative dies suddenly and you lose your job around the same time. Are these experiences likely to lead to alarming behaviour? Probably not. But in combination with other factors, difficult experiences like these could trigger high-risk ideas or even actions.
Some might say that the truth is the truth and students have the right to believe in conspiracy theories. But in these cases you really need to know what you’re doing, because it’s the thin edge of the wedge if all truth is relative. In practice, this is generally not the best way to gain your students’ trust, while gaining their trust is essential. How do you do that?
What should you do if your first talk with the student doesn’t lead to a solution? Or if there is an imminent threat calling for immediate action? Then it is important to know what steps have been agreed in your organisation, and which escalation process should be followed. The steps to be taken and your role in the process are set out in what we call a ‘ladder of escalation’.
On 29 January 2015, a young man with a gun in his hand walked into the building of Dutch public broadcaster NOS in the Media Park in Hilversum. He handed a letter to the doorman in which he demanded air time so that he could warn the nation of a dangerous conspiracy. Five minutes later, the young man, whose name was Tarik Zahzah, was overpowered and arrested by the police.
"I have to do something!" This appears to be the feeling that generally leads to the next step on the pathway to violence, ideation. While most people are able to shake off their grievances or frustrations fairly easily, a few individuals are unable to do so. An idea takes hold in their mind, and they find it increasingly difficult to let it go.
The next stage on the pathway to violence is planning and preparing the eventual action. At this point, alarming behaviour begins to evolve into high-risk behaviour, which becomes increasingly difficult to stop from this stage. The ideas crystallise: the individual investigates how others carried out similar plans, and sets out a timetable.
In this module you have experienced how alarming behaviour by two individuals from two very different backgrounds can escalate and culminate in an attack or membership of a violent group or network. These are just two examples. In the three practice-oriented modules we dealt with cases of students displaying alarming behaviour in the form of politically-motivated violence, a suicide threat and aggression caused by a psychological disorder.
