Making Prevention a Reality: Identifying, Assessing, and Managing the Threat of Targeted Attacks

This report, a practical guide on assessing and managing the threat of targeted violence, contains concrete strategies to help communities prevent these types of incidents.Every day in America, acts of planned violence are carried out against innocent people simply going about their lives. The mass shootings we see so frequently today are a dramatic example. I know many Americans feel that no place is safe – schools, places of worship, worksites, or public gatherings. Fear like that can become disabling, and that is no way to live. The FBI is committed to making our country safer by finding ways to reduce attacks like mass shootings, and other forms of targeted violence such as stalking, terrorism, or ambush attacks on law enforcement. For years, the FBI and other law enforcement agencies, academic researchers, mental health experts, and the news media have studied this problem. In 2015, the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit brought together a multidisciplinary group of experts to collaborate on solutions. This monograph represents the collective experiences and insights of the Behavioral Analysis Unit and these experts. We hope it serves as a practical guide to threat assessment and management. It is intended for novice and experienced professionals alike, and I believe it offers something for all of us who are paid to investigate and stop such acts of violence. The best way to counter any threat is to combine knowledge, experience, and cooperation with our partners. We must all work as a team.