Threat Assessment and Management Strategies

The 2019 Virginia Beach mass shooting represents an extreme but important incident in the broader context of workplace violence. It is both one of the deadliest cases of workplace violence in U.S. history and also one of the most confusing. Investigators who studied the perpetrator concluded that they "did not uncover any indications of violent tendencies" and "we may never know why he committed this heinous act." However, by using the Workplace Assessment of Violence Risk-21, Version 3, in a retrospective study of evidence from official reports and previously unreleased documents and photographs, we hope to generate new insights. Overall, our findings suggest that at least 12 risk factors for violence were prominent or present in the Virginia Beach mass shooter's life, and that he clearly posed a significant threat of violence before his attack. We provide the details so that practitioners and researchers can better understand this individual's trajectory toward mass violence, which could inform and enhance their future work. We also offer several recommendations for improving behavioral threat assessment and management strategies and violence prevention in workplace settings. Public Significance StatementPublic mass shootings occur most frequently in workplace settings. Therefore, it is important that evidence-based tools and strategies are implemented to identify potential threats of targeted violence. This study closely analyzed the 2019 Virginia Beach Municipal Center mass shooter using the Workplace Assessment of Violence Risk-21, Version 3, and found that he clearly posed a significant threat of violence before his attack.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Virginia Beach municipal center mass shooting: A retrospective threat assessment using the WAVR-21.

Cowan¹,

Lankford²

2024

“…The conference also provided an opportunity for education on warning behaviors in those who are fixated and approach their elected MP (or office staff) or make contact with ministerial offices. This education emphasized the importance of communications being reported so that warning signs are monitored to assess if someone is escalating on a pathway to violence (Calhoun & Weston, 2016). Feedback received on the day of the session revealed that prior to the session, electorate office staff generally believed that there was a high threshold for reporting to the Western Australia Police Force’s DPU, but education provided the opportunity to stress that it is important to collect information on behaviors that may represent early warning signs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problematic behaviors experienced by electorate and ministerial office staff: Results of and responses to a Western Australian survey.

Sheridan¹,

Pyszora²,

Cooper³

et al. 2019

Little attention has been paid to harassing and threatening behavior experienced by frontline staff who are employed to support politicians. This survey-based study sought to (a) collect information on the work-life prevalence and nature of harassment and threatening behavior engaged in by members of the public toward the frontline staff of parliamentarians in Western Australia, (b) collect information on the impact of this behavior and responses to it, and (c) inform the improvement of procedures for fixated threat assessment and risk management designed to enhance the security of parliamentarians and their staff. Almost two thirds of the sample (N ϭ 132) had experienced 1 or more of 19 threatening, harassing, and other concerning and intrusive behaviors. The behaviors most commonly endorsed included inappropriate telephone calls, loitering, unwanted approaches, and threats. Respondents reported a negative impact, including fear of physical assault. The survey findings provided the basis for a proactive approach covering aspects of physical, procedural, and relational security and psychoeducation. Reported behaviors of concern are now assessed by the Western Australia Fixated Threat Assessment Centre, and this article provides an overview of the relevant processes. Public Significance StatementThis study examines harassing and threatening behavior experienced by frontline staff employed by members of Parliament in Western Australia. Almost two thirds of staff reported these experiences, and negative consequences were noted. Measures that were taken to improve responses and support are discussed.

“…Doing so focuses attention on those behaviors in which all subjects intent on violence must engage in order to consummate an act of intended violence. Using the concept of the path and its integrated milestones—grievance, ideation, research and planning, preparation, breach, and attack—helps place suspicious behaviors within an easily understandable context that facilitates training, reporting, and initial response (Calhoun & Weston, 2016, 2021; Weston & Calhoun, 2022).…”

Section: Case Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The prevailing doctrine in threat management describes the process as consisting of three steps: identifying problem individuals or situations, assessing their degree of risk, then managing the individuals or the situations to defuse the potential risk (Amman et al, ca. 2016; Calhoun & Weston, 2016; Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, 2021). Issues related to proper assessment techniques, including computer-assisted programs, have long captivated the field’s attention (see Cawood et al, 2020; Cooke & Michie, 2014; Gerbrandij et al, 2018; Hanson et al, 2014; James et al, 2022; Jung & Himmen, 2022; Meloy & Gill, 2016; Storey & Hart, 2014, for a sampling of such interest).…”

Section: Case Examplementioning

confidence: 99%

Imagining the unimaginable to prepare for the unthinkable: Criteria for detecting, reporting, and acting to thwart intended violence.

Calhoun¹,

Weston²

2023

Imagining the Unimaginable" addresses the need for organizations to establish a process for detecting inappropriate behaviors and reporting them to entities capable of acting on the reports. The article recommends incorporating threat management concepts into law enforcement training curricula. It advocates establishing reporting procedures and identifying trained "designated receivers" within the various venues to receive and act on the reports. It also offers an all-purpose reporting guideline keyed on the path to intended violence that proposes "All Threat-All Reporting" criteria, serving as an educational tool for training everyone within law enforcement and different venues. Finally, the article explores the different responses needed for critical and noncritical threats. Together, these recommendations address the challenges involved in initially identifying problem individuals so that the threat management process can begin. Public Significance StatementThis article is significant because the detecting, reporting, and acting process it recommends fills the current void between the occurrence of a threatening or ominous act and the initiation of the threat management process of identifying, assessing, and managing problem individuals. The article also offers model criteria for what types of behaviors should be reported and recommends ways to train individuals on those criteria.