What Is Behavioral Threat Assessment?
Behavioral Threat Assessment is a proactive, evidence-based approach that identifies individuals who may pose a danger to safety in schools, on campuses, in workplaces, government entities, and within the general community.
What is Behavioral Threat Management?
Behavioral Threat Management provides interventions before a violent incident occurs (e.g., preventing an active shooter incident).
Together, Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) is a fact-based, systematic process using tools designed to identify, gather information about, assess, and manage potentially dangerous or violent situations.
BTAM Team Goals:
- Distinguish between making a threat and posing a threat
- Develop and implement case management intervention in situations where someone poses a risk or threat, and intervention is needed to reduce that risk or threat
- Mitigate safety risks
BTAM Team Process:
- Use certified checklist, forms, guides, and protocols.
- Identify the subject(s) or situation(s) whose behavior or impact has raised concern.
- Gather additional relevant information about the subject or situation in a lawful and ethical manner.
- Assess the situation, in context, based on the totality of the information that is reasonably, lawfully, and ethically available to determine whether the subject or situation poses a threat of violence or harm.
- Manage the threat by implementing an intervention, supervision, and/or monitoring plan to prevent harm or further harm where possible and to reduce or mitigate the impact of the situation.
About Threats
Threatening, disturbing, or violent behavior can manifest in many forms. A threat may be:
- Expressed or communicated verbally, behaviorally, visually, in writing, or electronically (e.g., email, text message, social media).
- Expressed directly or indirectly.
- Issued by someone known or unknown to the target.
- Conditional, threatening a particular violent action if something occurs or doesn’t occur.
Training and Certification
Training is a key component of U.S. statewide strategy. Ensure your front-line officers and community members know to recognize and report communicated threats and concerning behaviors that are warning signs of targeted violence. Visit the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) website and look for The National Threat Evaluation and Reporting (NTER) Program Office's Master Trainer Program (MTP). It certifies Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial (F/SLTT) partners in the instruction of BTAM techniques and best practices.
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