New Secret Service Guide Aims to Help Law Enforcement Prevent Targeted Violence
A new guide from the National Threat Assessment Center helps state and local law enforcement better anticipate mass shootings and other incidents. The new guide details important steps for officials to take.
The U.S. Secret Service released a new guide to help state and local law enforcement develop programs to prevent targeted violence like mass shootings, assassinations, and hate crimes.
The guide from the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) instructs state and local agencies on best practices in setting up behavioral threat assessment units (BTAU). BTAUs are designed to identify, assesses, and intervene with individuals identified as posing a risk of violence. The goal is of course to prevent violent acts from taking place.
“Keeping our communities safe is a team effort, and the Secret Service will continue to work with our state and local law enforcement partners to share knowledge, experience, and research in support of this common goal,” said U.S. Secret Service Acting Director Ronald Rowe. “This guide is specifically designed to help other law enforcement agencies put processes in place to recognize warning signs and prevent potential attacks.”
The guide lists six steps to take to create and operate a BTAU:
· Establish a Behavioral Threat Assessment Unit and Policy
· Create Operational Protocols and Procedures
· Identify and Process Reports of Concerning Behavior
· Gather Information to Assess for Risk
· Develop Risk Management Strategies
· Promote Continuous Improvement and a Culture of Prevention
The guide lays out detailed information for each step including when to initiate an investigation, best practices on gathering information, and best practices on coordination and communication.
The Secret Service also notes BTAUs can be housed within a single law enforcement agency or can be spread out across multiple agencies and jurisdictions, and that agencies can scale up or down personnel depending on threat levels.
NTAC recently held a webinar on the topic for interested agencies.
The Secret Service has been embroiled in controversy since the assassination attempt on President Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13.
A spokesperson told the HuffPost that the guide was three years in the making and was recently finalized.