Secret Service develops guide for state and local law enforcement to prevent 'targeted violence'

The Secret Service has released a guide for state and local law enforcement aimed at stopping violence before it occurs.

Usually known for protecting the president and other officials, the Secret Service also has a research arm called the National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), which produces reports about targeted violence incidents, among other things. Its report on mass shootings concludes they are preventable, in some cases, if concerning behavior is identified. It follows six principles for state and local law enforcement: establish a behavioral threat assessment unit, create operational protocols, identify and process concerning reports, information gathering, develop risk management strategies and promote a culture of prevention.

"This guide outlines a six step framework for law enforcement agencies on how to establish behavioral threat assessment units to prevent mass shootings and other targeted attacks, and this model for violence prevention is informed by the Secret Service's unique operational expertise and violence prevention and decades of [National Threat Assessment Center] research, which continually finds that most individuals who engage in this type of violence elicit concern and those around them prior to an attack," Steven Driscoll, deputy director of NTAC, said on a call with reporters.

"This guide builds on existing efforts to prepare and train our community partners, from those in education, mental health, law enforcement, on how to identify, assess and manage risk, but together we can stop violent before it occurs," Driscoll said.

The behavioral threat assessment unit could be as small as one officer in a local police department.

"This is why our approach and the guidance that we put out allows for scalability," said Dr. Lina Alathari, the head of the NTAC, said. "So an agency with limited resources to establish this kind of unit could begin with just a single designated violence prevention officer who maintains the responsibility of gathering information, information to manage situations that might revolve around potential violence, and we're standing ready right here to offer the training and the guidance as a follow up."

The Secret Service recommends multiple avenues to report potential threats of violence and then following up on those tips, such as smartphone apps, online forms and a dedicated email address.

Officials pointed to the case of Nikolas Cruz, who carried out the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018, who exhibited concerning behaviors before carrying out the shooting.

"We've seen assessment themes or behavior themes that most often these attackers engage in, and those are outlined in the guide so that help identify but also, what information are you going to gather to assess whether this person poses a risk? For example, have they made communications that are concerning? Have they elicited fear in those around them? Have they had an unusual fixation with mass violence and shootings? So a lot of these things we've seen over and over again in the history of prior attackers, including kids that have carried out attacks targeting their school," Alathari said.