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Beverly: Endicott Center focuses on school, workplace violence

By Cate Lecuyer
Staff writer
Published: February 21, 2008

BEVERLY — Years ago, the notion that someone would walk into a school or workplace with a loaded gun and start firing would never have occurred to Allen Brown.

But that was years ago. Today, Brown, a professor of psychology and criminal justice at Endicott College, heads the college's new Center on Workplace and School Violence in a time when killing rampages are becoming all the rage, so to speak.

"Once something like this happens, it sort of becomes part of the public consciousness," he said. "It creates a mind-set that it's something that can be done, this is a way you can go after a problem."

Brown aims to teach schools and workplaces how to encourage students and employees to address their problems before they explode in a suicidal shooting spree. He goes into offices, hospitals, high schools, colleges and workplaces to provide training on how to prevent an incident and set policies so everyone knows what to do if something happens. So far, he's been to a handful of public schools and health care facilities around the North Shore and in the Walpole area.

The program was created last year but took off in the last couple of months after Brown became the full-time director. With an increase in school and workplace violence, students have started to take an interest, and Brown hopes to involve them through thesis research and internships. Endicott also created two new classes — one on school and workplace violence and one on profiling people and assessing threats — that will soon be required for criminal justice majors. It's important to prepare students for the future, he said.

With events such as Columbine, Virginia Tech and, last week, Northern Illinois University, public shootings may appear more common, although there are no up-to-date statistics.

"It makes everyone start to wonder if something like that can happen to them," Brown said.

Edgewater shootings

The new center at Endicott is possible because Edgewater Technology in Wakefield is one business that doesn't have to wonder.

On Dec. 26, 2000, 42-year-old software tester Michael McDermott gunned down seven of his co-workers, most of whom were accountants. Prosecutors linked the crime with Edgewater's decision to garnish McDermott's wages to help pay the income taxes he owed. McDermott pleaded insanity but didn't convince the jury and was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Edgewater established a fund to support the victims' families, with a long-term goal of providing training and education to promote workplace safety. Between last year and this year, Endicott received $50,000 for the center, and Brown hopes to raise awareness about school and workplace violence.

He said he focuses less on police presence, metal detectors and surveillance cameras, which create a sense of security, and more on identifying the actual people who could be a danger to others.

When Brown first started going into workplaces, he was surprised by the high number of violent incidents in the health care industry. It's not just in the psychiatric wards and emergency rooms but in hospital rooms and nursing homes, he said.

"It's become quite an issue for nurses," he said.

In once case, a young man was not happy with the treatment his grandfather was receiving and began screaming and threatening people and punched a hole in the wall. That's the type of behavior that could escalate, but Brown believes that if staff are trained in what to look for and how to react, they can help prevent a tragedy.

The "profile" for a such a person is usually an isolated white male between 13 and 30, but just because someone writes violent poetry doesn't mean he's going to start shooting anyone, and just because someone is outgoing and social doesn't mean he won't, Brown said.

"If you just look for that profile, you'll miss a lot of people," he said. "You can't predict one particular person, but you can focus on the people who are in need of services."

In the end, many people who would probably never be a threat to anyone will benefit, he said, and others will never reach that point.

LEARNING MORE

What: "Beyond Sensationalism: Best Practices in Preventing, Managing and Recovering from Workplace and School Violence," an all-day conference

When: Wednesday, April 16

Where: Endicott College, Wylie Conference and Education Center

Cost: $100, includes breakfast and lunch

Information: Register online at www.endicott.edu, or call Allen Brown at 978-232-2180

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