Strengthening Threat Assessment Teams
So what?
To prevent acts of violence like school shootings or workplace attacks, institutions have begun designing teams of individuals with particular knowledge, skills, and abilities to interpret concerning behavior. Called “threat assessment teams,” these groups are charged with an important mission — preventing an act of violence. But little research exists to say what these teams should be able to do and how they should act, particularly in under-resourced environments like rural areas.
Project Summary
This project will explore how to get interdisciplinary teams across various sectors to work most effectively together.
Purpose/Objectives
This project will provide descriptive information to NCITE and DHS about the core functions, people, tools, and processes that are helpful for threat assessment and team management. Reports, whitepapers, and trainings generated by this research can help guide DHS threat assessment resourcing decisions.
Method
In Phase 1 of this two-year project, researchers will conduct a literature review of scholarly and applied written works discussing threat assessment team composition, resourcing, and practices. Phase 2 will include interviews and focus groups to see what various threat assessment teams need. Phase 3 will include interviews and focus groups to examine and detail individual functions and how those functions complement each other in teams — i.e., how do individuals work collaboratively as a team?
Outputs and Impact
- Scholarly articles
- Full-length technical reports
- Brief white papers
- Potential for products like data hosting and sharing technologies
- Potential for educational content like behavioral threat assessment and management training
Tin Nguyen, Ph.D.
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Erin Kearns, Ph.D.
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