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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
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
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
Academic level:
Undergraduate 1-2
Type of paper:
Problem and solution essay
Discipline:
Criminal Justice
Citation:
MLA
Pages:
3 (1031 words)
Spacing:
Double
* The sample essays are for browsing purposes only and are not to be submitted as original work to avoid issues with plagiarism.