Resources

getting started

Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks, is a vital resource in your threat assessment library. This document from he FBI describes threat assessment basics, and does away with commonly held falsehoods, such as the idea that attackers "just snap." It gives mechanisms for reporting and managing threats, because our job is to assess threats and work to keep the threat from turning into action. The depth of information in this document is extraordinary, and there is great wisdom in its pages. Regardless of your setting, there is something in here for you, such as an excellent protocol for managing terminations in a humane and safe manner. 

Mass Violence in America is a 2019 publication from the National Council for Behavioral Health including background information and practical suggestions. It is especially critical in teasing out the role of mental illness in mass violence, a topic that is always confusing as well as important.

The FBI’s 2019 active shooter data was published in April, 2020.

You can now get the new and updated International Handbook of Threat Assessment, Edited by J. Reid Meloy and Jens Hoffmann.

My go to book is Threat Assessment and Management Strategies: Identifying the Howlers and Hunters 2nd Edition.

Radicalization and Schools

Bullying has long been a buzzword for educators. We work hard to minimize the effects of bullying, because we know that many of the school shooters in the past were bullied. They acted on a feeling of marginalization and justified their actions by believing a violent revenge was justified. Now, terrorists have learned from our violent history. They are recruiting children who feel separate and victimized by their peers. They promise the comfort of joining a group, they promise inclusion and acceptance. This is a potent strategy because all adolescents feel isolated and misunderstood. All children are at risk of recruitment and radicalization. 

The FBI has developed a program for teens to counter the threat of developing an interest in extremism.

If you would like to learn more about the growing threat of extremism in schools, please read this document.

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

The threat of disruption in the workplace is on a continuum, from concern about interpersonal violence, to concern about coercion, data theft, and other antisocial acts that cause companies millions of dollars annually. There are many excellent resources if you would like to educate yourself about these critical areas. I am also available to come to your workplace to consult on persons of interest or train staff and executives. The best defense is a lot of practice and training. I have developed trainings designed to get people talking, so you can make sure that if something happens, you are ready.

A good place to start may be this 2016 publication by the FBI, titled "Workplace Violence." It defines "threat" clearly, explains the threat assessment and management process, and discusses the importance of training. There is also an excellent section on how and when it is appropriate to involve law enforcement. 

The next step is to look through the ASIS/SHRM standards. These are well written and have been help up as the standard in the field, which means they are mandatory reading for every corporate environment. You have to be an ASIS member to access the new standards, but they are well worth the price of membership. You can find them here, just scroll down to “Workplace Violence and Active Assailant-Prevention, Intervention, and Response (WVPI AA) 2020 edition.” The publication tells you, step by step, what to look for, who to involve, and how to set up a good program.

School Violence

Awareness of violence in schools has grown. It is important to be able to separate fact from fiction. This knowledge has helped us to create safer school environments, where bullying is less tolerated, and children are taught to be up standers instead of bystanders. 

The School Shooter:  A Threat Assessment Perspective, is a good place to start educating yourself about this topic. 

The Secret Service put out a document in 2018 on utilizing threat assessment in schools. It is an excellent and practical document. 2021 brought us the excellent publication , “Averting Targeted School Violence: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Plots Against Schools.”

The NTAC put out new data in 2019, providing much needed statistics and information. For example, in one third of the cases it took outside first responders between one and five minutes to respond to the situation, meaning that once the attack starts, even with excellent response time, it is too late. In the time of coronavirus, I have fixated on the statistic that 41% of school shootings occur after a break. We have all been on a big break, and the number of targeted violence attacks are increasing as we open up. There is also a link here where you can sign up from updates from the NTAC, which seems like a very good idea.

In 2020, the government launched school safety.gov, which they say, “is a one-stop-shop of resources for Kindergarten through Grade 12 (K-12) administrators, educators, parents and law enforcement to use to prepare for and address various threats related to safety, security, and support in schools.” It is a good place to find other resources.

The issue of FERPA is often the barrier between doing what you know is right and what feels legally safe. Though I am definitely not a lawyer, I found this description to be helpful, and you may too even though it is from 2007. Basically, if the safety of other student relies on disclosing information, than you may do it.

Beach reading

There is so much to learn about threat assessment. There have been many articles that just seem to get it right. I use these as reminders that lay people see things differently, and I like to share them with people when I am trying to explain to them about threat assessment and management.

The first and best article is the Mother Jones Inside the Race to Stop the Next School Shooter.

Mother Jones then published One Small Town’s Plan to Prevent Another Mass Shooting.

This 2021 article in Forbes by Rebecca Coffey has not only an amazingly in depth historical look at school shootings, but also avoids the hysteria and focuses on real prevention and good research.

Need help finding something to read?

 I would love to put together an annotated bibliography for you and be your personal librarian. Contact me and let me know what you need. Curious about the idea of a personalized reading list? I made a little explainer video for you.

Photo by Beatriz Pérez Moya on Unsplash