CVCC Threat Assessment Team (CVCCTAT)
Effective October 1, 2016 the Code of Virginia Section 23.1-805 defined the makeup of the threat assessment teams for institutions of higher education. At a minimum, the team must include members from law enforcement, mental health professionals, representatives of student affairs and human resources, and, if available, college or university counsel.
The mission of the CVCC Threat Assessment Team (CVCCTAT) is to determine if an individual or individuals poses, or may pose, a threat of danger or violence to self, other individuals, or the CVCC community; and to conduct timely evaluations and deliver intervention strategies to avert the threat and maintain campus safety. The TAT does not predict but function to prevent, mitigate and manage potential threats of harm.
CVCC Threat Assessment Team is coordinated by the Department of Public Safety and Campus Police and is comprised of police, advisors, staff and administrators to address referrals for assessment and intervention with individuals whose behavior may pose a threat to the safety of an individual, group and/or the campus community.
Members of the CVCC community are encouraged and expected to refer to the Threat Assessment Team (TAT) all cases that involve a threat or potential threat of violence by student, faculty, staff, vendor, community member or anyone that would impact the campus community. If there is any doubt whether a case should be referred to the CVCCTAT, the case shall be referred and the Team will determine what action, if any is appropriate.
Each case referred to the Threat Assessment Team (TAT) is managed with confidentiality and by professionals trained in the process of evaluating potential concerns/threats and obtaining necessary services and/or taking other appropriate actions. The team’s objective is to evaluate, manage and develop intervention and prevention strategies for potentially dangerous or threatening individuals or situations.
The CVCC Threat Assessment Team utilizes a standard protocol and the following steps may be initiated or be included in an evaluation:
Identify the specifics of the alleged threat, evaluate/investigate the seriousness of the threat, if necessary, intervene to mitigate the risk of violence and follow-up to monitor and re-evaluate effectiveness of the safety plan. The evaluation may include a single act, a course of acts or a series of conduct over a period of time.
A threat is an expression or a conveyed intent to do harm or commit an act of violence and can be verbally/spoken, drawing/written, or in the form of a gesture/symbolic in nature. They can be classified in the following four categories: direct, indirect, implied/veiled, and/or conditional threat(s).
CVCCTAT consists of the following team members:
- Director of Public Safety & Chief of Police
- Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs
- Dean of Student Services
- Human Resource Director
- ADA/Student Accessibility Coordinator & Advisor
- Community Connections Coordinator
- Horizon Behavioral Health
- Academic Dean(s), Title IX Coordinator and/or others (community members or campus staff) as required for a specific evaluation
- VCCS Legal Counsel are consulted as deemed appropriate for a specific evaluation
CVCCTAT meets the 4th Thursday of each month, or as needed when there are no cases to conduct case- management and/or on-going training, unless otherwise called together to evaluate a specific complaint or concern.
Contact the CVCCTAT by phone at (434) 832 -7700, by text at (434) 841-2939, by email at tat@centralvirginia.edu, by using any of the code blue devices or by contacting any team member directly for assistance and/or additional information.
You may also report information anonymously or confidentially using our online Incident Report form.
*** You should always call 911 or (9-911 from campus phones) if an immediate dangerous or threatening situation exists.
On November 11, 2019, CVCC Presidents’ Cabinet authorized the revised Threat Assessment Team membership as delineated above and approved the TAT to continue to serve as the college Sexual Assault Review Committee as permitted by section 23. 1 – 806 of the Code of Virginia.