Preliminary inquiry and full assessment

If a report is deemed actionable, the BTAU will initiate an assessment following the procedures described in STEP 4.

Following the BTAU’s initial processing (see STEP 3: Identify and Process Reports of Concerning Behavior), the unit will need to determine the scope of the behavioral threat assessment based on the information available.

At this stage, some cases will receive a preliminary inquiry to determine whether a full assessment is warranted, while other cases may move immediately into a full assessment.

Gather as much information as necessary to establish context for reported concerns • Determine whether the case should be closed or if the case warrants a full assessment

Gather all relevant information from all relevant sources • Comprehensively assess the risk posed by an individual • Identify strategies to mitigate risk

For any actionable report of concerning behavior that meets the BTAU’s criteria for opening a case, the minimum level of response would be an inquiry.

An inquiry is itself a form of assessment, though limited in scope.

The purpose of an inquiry is to gather as much information as necessary to establish context for the reported concerns, allowing the BTAU to determine the credibility of the report and whether the case should be closed or elevated for a full assessment.

An inquiry may involve steps such as • interviewing the reporting party, • interviewing the individual of concern, • conducting a corroborative interview with someone who knows the individual well, • conducting a criminal records check, and • conducting a preliminary review of publicly available online activity (e.g., social media).

At the conclusion of an inquiry, the BTAU may decide to either close the case or elevate it to a full assessment.

The rationale for the decision to close a case or elevate it for further assessment should be documented.

Like other decision points in a behavioral threat assessment, this determination should be objectively reasonable and articulable, taking into account the totality of all relevant information along with the training and experience of the BTAU members.

Full assessments are initiated when safety concerns are elevated by the result of an inquiry or when the content of the initial report on its own justifies a full assessment.

The goal of a full assessment is to gather all relevant information from a range of sources in order to comprehensively assess the risk posed by an individual while also identifying potential strategies to mitigate that risk.

A full assessment should involve an extensive interview with the individual of concern, multiple corroborative interviews (e.g., family, friends, neighbors, employers, and classmates), records checks (e.g., criminal, employment, educational, and mental health), reviews of online activity (e.g., social media and personal websites), and physical searches.

Physical searches should be conducted in accordance with existing protocols and may involve plain-view searches, searches conducted with consent of the individual, or searches conducted with a warrant, depending on the circumstances.

Is the report actionable? appropriate. | necessary? | appropriate. YES Initiate a preliminary inquiry.

Document, close, and retain the | NO | Is more report. Share information as | information needed? appropriate. YES Perform a full | YES assessment

Keep in mind that there is no need to wait until the BTAU has completed all interviews or addressed every theme before taking action.