A stepped-care approach is recommended. The first step in providing an effective intervention among many regular amphetamine users, particularly those attending non-treatment settings, may include provision of: a structured assessment of amphetamine use and related problems; self-help material; and regular monitoring of amphetamine use and related harms. Regular amphetamine users who present to treatment settings could be offered two sessions of CBT, while people with moderate to severe levels of depression may best be offered four sessions of CBT for amphetamine use from the outset, with further treatment for amphetamine use and/or depression depending on response. Pharmacotherapy and/or longer-term psychotherapy may be suitable for non-responders. An RCT of a stepped-care approach among regular amphetamine users is suggested.

Intervention research should evaluate the effectiveness of interventions aimed at: preventing transition to injecting and regular use of amphetamines; toward reducing levels of depression among amphetamine users and interventions among people with severe psychopathology and personality disorders; and toward reducing the prevalence of tobacco dependence among amphetamine users.

This exploratory, qualitative research study examined the attitudes and barriers police officers identified in successful implementation of the lethality assessment protocol (LAP), a collaborative intervention between police departments and domestic violence advocacy agencies in the state of Connecticut. Focus groups were conducted at three police departments to ascertain officers’ perceptions of the LAP. Officers ( N = 22) were recruited through an individual contact at each department. Responses to focus group questions indicated both system-wide and individual police department barriers. Results showed officers generally support the protocol and believe it has beneficial intent and purpose. Obstructions identified include timing of the implementation, lack of victim cooperation, and agency culture. Implementation barriers and officers’ attitudes are discussed.

Since the 1980s, school violence has been prominent in society and is gradually increasing in occurrence. In 1999, the Columbine High School shooting shocked the country demonstrating how deadly school violence can be, with a death count of 13 total people, including 12 students and 1 teacher. The next prominent occurrence was in 2005 on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, where 10 people were killed at the hands of a 16-year-old student. Another more recent act of school violence was in 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut, at Sandy Hook Elementary School. There, the shooter killed 28 people including children and teachers inside the school and his mother. And the latest horrific incidence of this kind took place at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in February of 2018. The shooter took the lives of 14 students and 3 school employees. As a response to these shootings, law enforcement has collaborated with schools to implement the use of school resource officers, emergency evaluation/reaction drills, and new policies regarding school violence.

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