Fundamentals of Threat Assessment for Beginners

Abstract

This chapter addresses the fundamentals of threat assessment for professionals new to the field. Threat assessment is a critical thinking analysis that requires a multidisciplinary and peer review approach. Some of the fundamental concepts of threat assessment discussed in this chapter include the need for a detailed evaluation of the threatener’s background, including background patterns of behavior, motivation, and abilities to carry out the threat. The use and relevance of self-reported information in a threat assessment context must be very carefully evaluated because of the possibly deceptive motivations of the person providing it. Also discussed in this chapter are adolescents as unique offenders from a threat assessment perspective; their psychological, emotional, and brain development is unique and critical for the threat assessor to understand and to discern when evaluating their potential to make threats and carry them out. Key concepts integral to threat assessment also discussed in this chapter include evidence of escalation, injustice collecting, superficial indicators of normalcy, hatred and other emotions as motivators for carrying out threatened acts of violence, and the categories of reasons for the misinterpretation of dangerous and violent behavior by individuals close to or associated with the threatener.

Intimate partner violence on campus: A victim-centered case study.

“…Within organizations, TAMs must have a specified mission to ensure student, faculty, staff, and leadership stakeholders are aware of the issues they are designed to address and the role assessors play in managing threats (O’Toole & Smith, 2014). Multidisciplinary teams are critical, given the challenges of having one person be a single point of contact.…”

“…A holistic approach to threat management is more than building a multidisciplinary team and community partnerships; it also includes working closely with the perpetrators of potential threat cases and their identified targets. Holistic case management involves looking for patterns of behavior in a perpetrator’s background and considering the mental and physical aspects involved when working with red flag cases (Carter et al, 2015; Mohandie, 2014; O’Toole & Smith, 2014). In addition to looking at criminal history, a case manager must consider other factors occurring in a person’s life to assess their pathway to violence, such as a person’s mental and physical health, financial health, employment, as well as relevant relationships (Meloy et al, 2014).…”

“…For risks of violence to be identified and mitigated, stakeholders must communicate with one another and share information on potential threats (Cawood & Corcoran, 2020; Deisinger & Scalora, 2016; Hoffmann & Zamboni, 2014; Mohandie, 2014; O’Toole & Smith, 2014). On more than one occasion, Lauren also reached out to Salt Lake City police to gain updates on her case when University of Utah Department of Public Safety (UUPS) was ineffective.…”

“…Information collection and management is another area where campus housing, security, and law enforcement failed to use available resources effectively. An essential component of information management is the capacity to receive, store, and share information across units promptly (Deisinger et al, 2014; Carter et al, 2015; Cawood & Corcoran, 2020; Meloy et al, 2014; Mohandie, 2014; O’Toole & Smith, 2014). While the UU utilized software to store information, staff in campus housing could not get the system to accept the report from housing officials (Nielsen et al, 2018; McCluskey, McCluskey, and McCluskey v. State of Utah et al , 2019).…”

“…However, not having such a system to collect and share information with a TAM is negligent or irresponsible. Routine or not security requests serve as data points in cases, help threat managers compile a case history, and build a timeline used in assessing where a potential target is along a pathway to violence (Carter et al, 2015; Cawood & Corcoran, 2020; Meloy et al, 2014; Mohandie, 2014; O’Toole & Smith, 2014). Additionally, this security concern could have been used to collect additional information on Rowland, like his parole status, especially since Lauren’s mother stated he was a sex offender.…”