Bio
Frank G. Straub, Ph.D., has conducted in-depth studies of targeted mass violence events in San Bernardino (CA), Kalamazoo (MI), Orlando (FL), Parkland (FL), the University of North Carolina-Charlotte, and Paw Paw (MI). He leads the Averted School Violence project, a national database, funded by the US Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, that tracks, analyzes and reports on averted and completed school attacks. He has also led a DHS funded Countering Violent Extremism project in Boston, MA and consults with several NGOs in counterextremism and counterterrorism.
Dr. Straub served for more than 30-years in federal, state and local law enforcement. He led law enforcement/public safety agencies in New York, Indiana, and the State of Washington.
Dr. Straub is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Combating Terrorism, U.S. Military Academy, West Point; an Adjunct Professor in Michigan State University’s Department of Psychiatry; a Graduate Faculty Scholar, University of Central Florida’s Department of Psychology; and a member of Yale University’s Department of Psychiatry and Law’s Working Group on Social Isolation and Extremism. Dr. Straub has served on US Department of Homeland Security and US Department of Justice threat assessment and school safety working groups.
Dr. Straub is a licensed therapist in Michigan. He serves as a clinician on the Calhoun County Sheriff’s Department’s Peer Support Team.
Dr. Straub holds a B.A. in Psychology, a M.A. in Forensic Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Criminal Justice. He has authored articles and reports on school violence, crisis response, community policing and violence prevention. He speaks regularly at national and international conferences, has participated in numerous Congressional and White House briefings, and is a frequently invited commentator and analyst for national and international media outlets.
Key Projects
Center for Targeted Violence Prevention
Averted School Violence Database
Developing a Trauma Certificate for Law Enforcement 1st Line Supervisors
COPS Law Enforcement Mental Health Community of Practice
Areas of Focus
- Targeted/mass violence
- Counter-extremism and counter-terrorism
- Law enforcement and community mental health
- Critical incident reviews
- Youth violence prevention
- Community-police relations