Don't Name Them (ALERRT at Texas State University)

Developed by the ALERRT™Center at Texas State University

It's simple.
It's effective.
Don't sensationalize the names of the shooters in briefings - or in reporting about Active Shooter Events.

It is journalistically routine to name the killer. It’s public record. And it is important to use their names and likenesses to apprehend them and bring them to justice. But once they are captured, it’s really no longer a part of the story, other than to create a call to action for a like-minded killer to take his plans and thoughts and make them into deeds.

Sociologists and criminologists should study the criminal – but let’s not glorify the shooter by giving him valuable airtime. Don’t share his manifestos, his letters, his facebook posts. Be above the sensationalism. Tell the real stories - the stories of the victims, the heroes and the communities who come together to help the families heal.

Active shooter research data shows the increase in these events. By encouraging the media to focus less on the suspects and more on the victims, it is hoped that future events can be prevented.

The Don't Name Them campaign is a coordinated effort by the ALERRT Center at Texas State University, the I Love U Guys Foundation (founded by John-Michael and Ellen Keyes), and the FBI. Family members of the victims of the Aurora Colorado movie theater shooting are also challenging media and public information officers to not name the shooters through their "No Notoriety" campaign.

The focus of the campaign is to shift the media focus from the suspects who commit these acts to the victims, survivors, and heroes who stop them.

Why Not?

• Some shooters are motivated by a desire for fame, notoriety, and/or recognition.
• When the media focuses on the shooter, they provide this fame, notoriety and recognition.
• This focus allows the shooter to accomplish one of his goals, and validates his life and actions.
• Media coverage can create a contagion effect producing more shootings.
• Some shootings may be prevented by removing one of the incentives.
• We encourage the media and others not to name the shooters or focus on their lives.
• The shooters should be as unrecognized in their deaths as they were in their lives.
• Media coverage should focus on the victims and the heroes.

The "Contagion Effect"

Sherry Towers, a physicist at Arizona State University has studied the contagion effect of mass shootings. Read more of her interview here : https://asunews.asu.edu/20151005-contagion-effect-mass-shootings

Q: What is the news media’s role in this? Do they push up the numbers?
A: It appears that yes, national media coverage does end up increasing the frequency of these tragedies. However, the U.S. Constitution ensures freedom of the press ... we cannot legislate restrictions on the press to avoid this. It has to be a voluntary move. In fact, most press agencies will not report on suicides for exactly this reason ... suicides have been shown to be contagious. The sheriff in Oregon made the decision not to mention the killer's name. Perhaps his choice will be the beginning of a larger national conversation on how we can choose (or choose not) to cover these events.

The University of Texas Tower - Austin, Texas

Think about it:
Our "Don't Name Them" campaign encouraging media, law enforcement and public information officers to move their focus from the shooters to the victims and heroes. Why?
Take this quick test-- Do you remember the University of Texas Tower Shooting in Austin, Texas
in 1966?... the Columbine High School Shooting in Littleton, Colorado in 1999?... the Virginia Tech Shooting in Blacksburg, Virginia in 2007... the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut...
Can you name the shooter(s) in any of these instances?
In any group we speak with, someone can name the shooters.
But few, if any, can name even one of the victims - or even the heroes who stopped the killings.

Some shooters are movitated by by a desire for fame, notoriety, and/or recognition. When the media focuses on the shooter, they provide this fame, notoriety and recognition.Time and again, families of victims have pled with media to stop sensationalizing the names of the shooters. In many cases, their voices are heard. Our Don'tNameThem.org kicks off a media campaign to encourage the press to focus on the victims and the heroes. The shooters should be as unrecognized in their deaths as they were in their lives.
We will provide subject matter experts ranging from behavioral analysts to researchers, to responders and survivors, and most importantly, effective story lines that will help the healing begin - in your community, in your schools, churches, and businesses, and in your homes.

Contact
Diana Hendricks
Director of Communications
The ALERRT Center
at Texas State University
512.245.4779 office
512.618.3373 cell
hendricks@alerrt.org
for speakers or materials for law enforcement,
school, and municipal public information conferences, as well as state and national press associations.

The ALERRT Mission:
To provide the best research-based active shooter response training in the nation.
The ALERRT Vision:
Training and research that saves lives and protects communities.

The ALERRT™ Center at Texas State University:
Since 2002, we have trained more than 80,000 law enforcement officers in 48 states plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia in the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training (ALERRT) ™ standard for active shooter response, primarily through federal and state funding. In 2013, the FBI named ALERRT their national standard for active shooter response, and partnered with us to help deliver this training across the nation.
Major metro agencies from New York PD to Honolulu PD have adopted the ALERRT standard and many states have made the ALERRT courses part of their standard law enforcement academy curriculum.
Law enforcement officers and agencies are frequently requested by schools, businesses, and community members for direction and presentations on what they should do if confronted with an active shooter event.
The Civilian Response to Active Shooter Events (CRASE) course, designed and built on the Avoid Deny Defend™ strategy developed by ALERRT™ in 2004, provides strategies, guidance and a proven plan for surviving an active shooter event. Topics include the history and prevalence of active shooter events, the role of professional guardians, civilian response options, medical issues, and drills. Participants in this four hour Train-the-Trainer course will receive a manual and Power Point presentation suitable for use in their own presentations.