Marginalization behind the school shootings in Jokela

Finland: Marginalization behind the school shootings in Jokela

Posted by Ross Arrowsmith on Friday, February 27th 2009 under School/Campus Violence

The marginalization of the perpetrator of the school shootings in Jokela was of a special kind, the result of several contributory factors. The family, upbringing and the school community but also the rest of society are in a prime position for preventing marginalization, contends the Investigation Commission appointed by the Council of State to investigate the school shootings in Jokela in its report.

The Investigation Commission presents 13 recommendations for reducing the probability of school shootings and lessening the harm done by them. Several of the recommendations involve the prevention of marginalization through, among other things, developing student care, mental health services and the prevention of school bullying.

The causes leading up to the school shooting in Jokela on 7 November 2007 were complex and the killings themselves constituted a deliberate criminal act showing the methodical nature that constitutes an essential element of murder. A senior high school student shot eight persons and himself in a school centre. He also tried to start a fire, but failed.

According to the Investigation Commission, it is not enough to come up with one or two solutions to prevent school shootings, but a range of solutions to different issues must be worked out simultaneously.

Development of student care
Staff resources allocated to student care are below the recommended level in many municipalities, and a student in need of help does not always receive the necessary support. Cooperation between different branches of student care is hampered by confidentiality provisions and various interpretations of them. The circumstances of individual students are not discussed with adequate openness and the difficult situations therefore not suitably dealt with.

The Investigation Commission holds that the work of the schools and student care should be developed so as to better identify the students’ problems and provide necessary support services. Student care should have access to the recommended provision of resources and the work should be systematic. Where necessary, legislative and other measures should be taken. Provisions affecting the flow of information and confidentiality should be made clearer.

Mental health services for young persons
The perpetrator of the school shootings did not receive adequate treatment for his mental disorder, nor was it properly followed up. The medication prescribed for him is normally not recommended for young persons since it can in individual cases apparently increase the risk of aggressive behaviour. A comprehensive treatment plan should have been prepared for the perpetrator so that his condition could have been followed up and necessary support measures assessed.

Recommendations for treatment of anxiety and mood disorders among young persons should be specified so that cooperation between primary health care, specialized health care and the social services works smoothly providing the young person with as good a comprehensive care as possible. Moreover, more detailed instructions for the medical treatment of depression of young persons should be prepared.

Prevention of school bullying
The perpetrator had been a victim of school bullying since his time at the lower level of the comprehensive school and it continued in the senior high school. The school had intervened against the bullying to some extent. According to the Investigation Commission, bullying must be actively combated through pre-emptive actions and immediate intervention. The staff of schools and day-care centres have a crucial role here. For bullying to be properly dealt with, the families must be willing to participate and cooperate.

Stricter firearms licensing and Internet control
The perpetrator got his licence relatively easily, but the granting of the licence followed the law and the current practice. The conditions especially for the granting of handgun licences should be considerably tightened and the number of guns significantly reduced.

The perpetrator found both models for the school shootings and discussion partners with whom to develop his thoughts on the Internet. The most important Finnish Internet service providers should prepare and introduce rules to allow those who maintain a site to intervene against improper communications and to report observations of criminal activities to the authorities. In addition, the introduction of provisions criminalizing the preparation of offences against life in the Penal Code should be considered.

Improved school safety
The perpetrator had given hints about the shootings he was planning, but they were not understood as such in the light of the experience of the time. Signs of the same kind have been observed abroad before school shootings. When noticed in time and action taken, these signs provide an opportunity to direct matters so as to prevent the final act.

The Ministries should issue instructions regarding the planning of the overall safety of the schools, including the identification of risks and the prevention of them becoming realized.

The Investigation Commission further recommends, among other things, a continued development of the cooperation between authorities as well as of their information services to meet such new situations as those that arose in Jokela. The media should supplement its own instructions regarding procedures in crises.

The Council of State appointed the Investigation Commission of the school shootings in Jokela in November 2008. Before that, the investigation was under preparation for a year in a working group appointed by the Ministry of Justice. Many of the measures recommend by the Investigation Commission have already been taken.