University's Threat Assessment Team provides outlet for campus members to voice concerns


	Jane Caton and Peter Berkson serve as the threat assessment specialists on the University of Iowa Threat Assessment Team. They investigate reports made by UI faculty, staff, and students as well as calls from non-UI affiliates. Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

Threats can come in many forms from various people: a stressed coworker, an agitated roommate, a depressed colleague. The University of Iowa’s Threat Assessment Team provides an outlet for concerned campus members to take action before these threats turn worse or become tragic.

The team, led by threat assessment specialists Jane Caton and Peter Berkson, investigates reports from UI faculty, staff, students, and nonaffiliates, interviewing subjects of concern and performing background checks before attempting to link these subjects with the appropriate resources for resolution.

“Our goal is to help the situation, not to be punitive,” says Berkson, a lieutenant with the UI Police Department. “We want to do what’s best for everyone involved.”

The pair have addressed more than 170 cases since the team’s formation in late 2008, and have dealt with many more situations on a short-term or consultation basis. “We’ve been busy,” Berkson says. “There’s a lot on our plate.”

Caton’s background in mental health services—she is a licensed independent social worker and certified alcohol and drug counselor who works in UI Human Resources—gives the UI team added perspective. “We are somewhat unique. A lot of threat assessment teams are based solely in police departments,” she says. “We approach each case together, bringing both perspectives to the table immediately.”

Contacing the Threat Assessment Team

If you see any of these warning signs or experiences any type of threatening behavior, they should contact the Threat Assessment Team (TAT) immediately.

During normal business hours, please contact Lieutenant Peter Berkson at 319-384-2787, or Jane Caton, Licensed Independent Social Worker (LISW), Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor (CADC), at 319-384-2955. You also can e-mail uitat@uiowa.edu about any concerns. TAT will respond as soon as possible, typically within 24 hours of the initial contact.

If you wish to report an incident outside of normal business hours, please call The University of Iowa Police Department at 319-335-5022.

Click here to make an anonymous report through UI Department of Public Safety.

Berkson and Caton applied for their specialist roles after the Board of Regents, in the wake of the slayings at Virginia Tech University, mandated that the University form a group to provide comprehensive threat assessment and management services. The specialists conduct the initial hands-on work and, when cases warrant, they consult with the larger Threat Assessment Team, comprised of UI personnel from health care, law enforcement, student services, human resources, general counsel, and employee assistance.

“The team members have a major interest in the well-being of the University, and they bring perspectives that we don’t necessarily have,” Berkson says.

As stated, the specialists’ goal is to link the subject of the complaint with the appropriate service, whether that is counseling, substance abuse treatment, or mental health care. They work with many UI resources, as well as the Iowa City Police Department and community-based services. Caton and Berkson continuously follow up on cases—in the words of Berkson, “the case doesn’t just end with a report.”

The specialists go wherever they need to go—offices, apartments, residence hall rooms—to follow up on cases. “In dire situations, we’ve had to wait outside classrooms,” Caton says.

“But we’re low-key in our approach,” Berkson says, adding that in this line of work, his attire is business-casual, not a law-enforcement uniform. “We don’t want to draw attention to the situation, and we don’t want to humiliate anyone. We want to preserve the dignity of people.”

That level of involvement has yielded positive feedback in the form of the occasional “thank you” e-mail. And Caton sees success—or at the very least, gains a feeling of satisfaction—from the changes that occur because of their intervention.

The team doesn’t operate solely in a reactive way. Caton and Berkson have given numerous presentations to departments around campus, educating directors, HR reps, faculty, and staff on the warning signs that should be reported. Avenues for student outreach are being developed.

If people feel uncomfortable about making a report, Berkson says anonymous reporting can be done through UI Police. “However, we do like to talk to the reporter to get more information,” Berkson says. “If we don’t have enough information, we can’t act on it, or act appropriately.”

And Caton and Berkson want the phones to ring, in a sense. “We’d rather have the phones ringing than the alternative,” Caton says. “You just never know when something could turn violent or tragic. A report can allow us to intervene before it reaches that point.”

by Christopher Clair