Today is the third time in a short time that a school in North Holland has been threatened online. Earlier this month, schools in Zaandam and Huizen also remained closed. The five school closures in a week and a half are striking. Is there a trend or are schools overreacting to the (digital) threat?
According to criminologist Jasper van der Kemp, there are no concrete figures about threats against schools. A clear picture of this is therefore lacking, according to him. He does acknowledge that you have seen spam threats at schools more recently, but not on a ‘large-scale level’.
Four closed schools
In the past week, several schools in North Holland closed their doors after online threats. So one received VMBO school in Zaandam a threatening email with a firearm and threatening text, to which it decided to close its doors that day. As a precaution, two other schools in the same neighborhood were therefore also closed.
One also closed a day later primary school in Homes closed its doors because of a ‘disturbing e-mail’. Although, according to the police, there was no ‘concrete threat’, the school remained closed until after Easter weekend and filed a report.
Today it was announced that one too primary school in Amsterdam South East after an online threat decided not to teach and to remain closed. A case officer of the Public Prosecution Service informed NH News today that there is as yet no indication whatsoever of a connection between the three cases.
Copy cat behavior
According to Van der Kemp, threats to schools are extremely complex and fall into an ‘abstract category’. Because the threats are often made publicly and are visible, schools are forced to respond to them. This is in contrast to offline threats, where people deliberately consider not responding more often.
When a school receives such an online threat, the police carry out a so-called threat analysis. This involves an analysis of how serious the threat is, where it comes from and what security risks there are. According to Van der Kemp, schools are in a difficult position in this respect. Not giving a response is not an option, but by responding it can in some cases provoke malicious people to do something.
A phenomenon that Van der Kemp calls ‘copy-cat behavior’. An effect in which young people imitate the behavior of each other. “Young people see that a school is closing because of an online threat and think: ‘What if I also send a threatening e-mail now, will my school also close tomorrow?’.”
“If an adolescent sends exactly the same threat to an institution, it has a huge impact and the teenager is seen as a criminal”
Is there a trend among teenagers? No, says behavioral biologist Patrick van Veen. According to him, adolescents have an innate mechanism for experimentation. “Young people have a natural tendency to copy. This happens on many and different fronts, for example in the field of clothing.”
Impact unclear
Adolescents are constantly testing, says Van Veen. “The big difference with online threats, however, is that their impact is not immediately clear.” As an example he gives someone who throws a stone through the window. The impact of this is immediately clear: the window is broken. When someone threatens a school online, this impact is not immediately visible. Adolescents are not programmed for this ‘indirect impact’.
Van Veen notes that it is important to make a nuance. “When teenagers threaten each other online, there is little or no response. When a teenager sends the same threat to a teacher, a school becomes nervous. However, if an adolescent sends exactly the same threat to an institution, it has a huge impact , and the teenager is considered a criminal.”
Adolescents therefore do not seem to oversee the impact of their ‘innocent’ actions. As a possible solution, Van Veen emphasizes the importance of education. “Young people are quite sensitive to the education about online impact.” It is important to make young people aware of the impact of their online behavior. “You can definitely train the target group better in this.”
Transparency
School psychologist Odeth Bloemberg advises schools in crisis situations. According to her, transparency is the keyword during such a crisis situation. “It is very important to be transparent to all involved, otherwise people become suspicious and that is counterproductive to create a sense of security.” It explains the reactions of the schools, which speak openly about the threats in their communication to staff, students and parents.
Splits
All in all, it becomes clear that online threats are complex matters. Schools seem to be in a dilemma. Adolescents are not aware of the impact of their online threats, while schools are forced to respond to this. It is important to be transparent towards employees, students and parents.
Although that also plays into the hands of copy-cat behavior. Schools are often in a tight spot with such a threat. Not responding is not an option, but responding causes copying behavior in adolescents. Something most of them will not even be aware of the great impact it can have.
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