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Improving Campus Safety with Gun Violence by Background Checks and Mental Health Support

This problem and solution essay examines the growing threat of gun violence on college campuses and evaluates two key strategies to reduce firearm-related incidents: comprehensive background checks and strengthened mental-health support systems. Drawing from criminological research, the essay explains how gaps in gun-control policies and limited access to mental-health services contribute to violence in academic environments. It argues that combining background-check reforms with trauma-informed mental-health programs can improve campus safety and reduce risk among at-risk individuals. The paper is written as an undergraduate problem and solution essay in criminal justice.

November 21, 2025

* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.

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Student’s Name

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Improving Campus Safety with Gun Violence by Background Checks and Mental Health

Support Systems.

Introduction

College Campus Gun Violence is a major menace in the United States that has been known to

claim lives, inflict injuries, as well as mass psychological trauma to the students, faculty, and

staff. In 2020 alone, 44,286 people died due to firearm violence, and more than a quarter million

violent gun-related victimizations took place (Kagawa et al. 539). Despite the fact that mass

shootings on campuses are not common occurrences, they result in fear and disruption of

educational settings, as is the case in occurrences where perpetrators usually have some form of

prior warning in regard to their mental health conditions or firearm possession. The issue is also

aggravated by the loopholes in gun control laws and the lack of mental health services, as

dangerous people can get a gun without a struggle. Campuses will have to use a twofold

approach in order to curtail this crisis. This essay holds that background checks and

implementation of strong mental health support networks are necessary to increase campus

safety from gun violence, reducing the number of individuals who access firearms and

decreasing the number of individuals who do not serve as at-risk models through early

intervention.

The Incidences and Effects of Gun Violence on Campuses.

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The fact that gun violence is highly prevalent and affects college campuses is indicative of a

serious public health crisis. Neighborhood gun violence that frequently has a spill-over effect in

educational institutions is associated with more frequent mental health problems in young

people, and children who experienced shootings had higher odds of emergency department (ED)

visits to address mental health issues 14 days after exposure 1.86 times higher than their peers

(Vasan et al. 5). In campus, the effect is increased anxiety, PTSD, and interrupted learning, with

about a quarter of mass murderers having demonstrated some form of mental illness, but the

majority never received the care of a mental health provider (Metzl et al. 83). Here, the offenders

often obtain guns via private deals without any examination and circumvent federal background

checks that may indicate criminal or mental health restrictions. In addition to direct victims,

survivors and witnesses experience long-term consequences, such as 49.5% reduction of PTSD

symptoms, which is only possible with the help of specific interventions (Vasan et al. 6). Unless

countermeasures are undertaken, such incidents constitute a trauma cycle, which culminates in

worse academic results, increased dropout rates, and an overall loss of campus security.

The Campus Gun Violence Toll on Society

Campus gun violence has a societal cost in terms of economic and legal, and reputational

damages to institutions, which requires evidence-based solutions. Conventionally used methods

such as enhanced security are not effective, since the high mass shooting rates are associated

with lax gun laws (Metzl et al. 87). To give an example, states that do not have comprehensive

checks allow people with deadly misdemeanors or mental health determinations to go through

loopholes, which can contribute to the risk of violence by up to 22 percent in a few instances

(Kagawa et al. 541). Although mental illness does not represent a major predictor of violence

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(the contribution is only 0.5% of the homicides), it overlaps with the availability of firearms in a

way that increases risks when left unaddressed (Metzl et al. 82). After the incident, communities

are left to deal with stress and 71 percent of adults fear mass shootings and one out of three

avoids going out including campuses (Metzl et al. 82). This points out the incompetence of the

reactive policies and the necessity of preventive changes that would cover not only the access to

guns but the psychological aspects as well.

Resolution: Introducing Comprehensive Background Checks

One of the main solutions is the introduction of background checks (CBCs) to keep high-risk

people from possessing firearms. CBC policies expand the checks to the personal sales, checking

criminal, mental health, and other records to block access by prohibited individuals, which may

decrease arrests for violent offenses (Kagawa et al. 541). Though state-level outcomes are

inconsistent, where no significant decline in firearm homicides (0.09- 0.18 per 100,000) or

suicide was observed in some of the implementations, at the individual level, data demonstrates

protective effects, particularly in cases where mental health prohibitions are concerned (Kagawa

et al. 542). In the case of campuses, their combination with federal improvements, such as

checking those under 21 who buy a weapon, can limit the availability of weapons to students

who have a history of threats. Cooperation with extreme risk protection orders makes temporary

withdrawals of imminent threats possible and prevents possible shootings (Kagawa et al. 544).

To be effective, CBCs need full records and imposition since lapses such as noncompliance

affect outcomes, but when healthy, they reduce deflection and hasty actions (Kagawa et al. 543).

Remedy: Empowering Mental Health Supporting Systems.

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Enhanced mental health support systems on campuses in relation to prevention and response are

important. Gun violence increases the risk of PTSD (5%16% among young people), and the

untreated cases result in substance abuse and suicidality (Vasan et al. 2). Trauma-informed care,

which implies universal screening, counseling, and community outreach after the incidents and

minimizes the symptoms by up to 49.5 percent with the help of such methods as TF-CBT should

be adopted on the campuses (Vasan et al. 6). Environmental settings are enhanced, and punitive

policies that exacerbate problems are prevented by multi-tiered supports, including social-

emotional learning and de-escalation training (Metzl et al. 88). Working together with schools,

health providers, and families encourages early intervention because a quarter of active shooters

had mental illnesses but were not supported (Metzl et al. 83). By implementing these systems as

a priority, the campuses will be able to respond to warning signs, which are apparent in almost

all of the perpetrators, and reduce the possibility of violence by using non-stigmatizing strategies

(Metzl et al. 88).

Conclusion

To sum up, gun violence on college campuses can be addressed by implementing extensive

background checks and psychological assistance to limit access and offer early intervention.

Institutions can create safer environments through imposing strict checks and investing in trauma

care. To protect the communities, policymakers should be the champions of these strategies

because inaction is causing unnecessary damage.

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Works Cited

Kagawa, Rose, et al. "Effects of Comprehensive Background-Check Policies on Firearm

Fatalities in 4 States." American Journal of Epidemiology, vol. 192, no. 4, 2023, pp. 539–

548, https://doi.org/10.1093/aje/kwac222. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.

Metzl, Jonathan M., et al. "Mental Illness, Mass Shootings, and the Future of Psychiatric

Research into American Gun Violence." Harvard Review of Psychiatry, vol. 29, no. 1,

2021, pp. 81–89, https://doi.org/10.1097/HRP.0000000000000280. Accessed 19 Nov.

2025.

Vasan, Aditi, et al. "Association of Neighborhood Gun Violence With Mental Health–Related

Pediatric Emergency Department Utilization." JAMA Pediatrics, vol. 175, no. 12, 2021,

pp. 1244–51, https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.3512. Accessed 19 Nov. 2025.

November 21, 2025

24/7 custom essay writing by real academic writers

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Academic level:

Undergraduate 1-2

Type of paper:

Problem and solution essay

Discipline:

Criminal Justice

Citation:

MLA

Pages:

3 (1031 words)

Spacing:

Double