EARLY DETECTION & INTERVENTION FOR SHOOTERS

We know this process works for Cancer, drug and alcohol addiction, suicide prevention, early learning issues, and relationship problems.  It is not 100% effective, nothing is, but this strategy is effective in a significant number of cases and saves lives.

So, why not a more conscious commitment to this process when it comes to shooters, haters, terrorists and those bent on destruction whether of human lives and dignity, insurrections, or even the environment?

In many cases there is sufficient information available to take preventive action and someone could be in charge of ongoing surveillance to have a chance of stopping the haters and destroyers by not letting them slip through the cracks of a flawed system.

We may not have a sufficient number of trained personnel in law enforcement but we are discovering that a significant portion of 911 calls are related to quality-of-life and other low-priority incidents that may require a time-sensitive response but are better suited to civilian responders, rather than armed police officers. A life-threatening emergency is another matter.

Why not have a corps of trained civilian volunteers, similar to the hot-line contacts for suicide prevention, who can monitor an individual’s progress, if we can call it that, toward destruction. Then, at a critical moment, make the call to get the help before it’s too late. Too late is what we have seen with mass shootings beginning in 1999 with Columbine.

Finding evidence after the event that was available earlier might not stop everyone  but it could produce enough reasons to intervene and take preventive action to shut someone down before they pull the trigger.

I know this idea may be hard to design and implement but a lot of things that are worthwhile start with an idea.  Any other thoughts?