2026 Conference on Violent Crime

Mental health problems are often linked to violence risk, and mental health treatment to violence risk reduction. This formulation allows people with different perspectives to come together and pursue shared goals. However, the rationale behind these linkages is based on both accurate and inaccurate appraisals of the nature of those associations. Productive policy and supportive responses to students in crisis or suspected of being at risk for violence will come from a solid understanding of the relationship between mental health problems and violence risk; this presentation will provide information on the nature of that relationship. Audience members will then be challenged to consider the tensions and conflicts that may arise when navigating a landscape that involves real and perceived threats, and shared obligations to individuals and the public safety.