Targeted violence

The prevention of targeted violence in our country remains critical as communities have far too often been impacted by mass shootings and other targeted attacks.

Keeping communities safe requires a team effort and the combined resources of federal, state, and local law enforcement.

The ECSP coined the term targeted violence and established the foundational model of the Secret Service’s behavioral threat assessment approach, which is still in use today.

The same behavioral threat assessment model that is used to keep Secret Service protectees safe can be utilized by other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to prevent other forms of targeted violence, including attacks targeting schools, workplaces, houses of worship, and public gatherings.

Preventing targeted violence in America is everyone’s responsibility.

The places where we live, work, worship, and learn have far too often been impacted by acts of targeted violence, forcing Americans to question their own safety in the places they should feel the most secure.

Only by understanding the problem of targeted violence can communities begin to chart a path toward prevention.

The Secret Service defines targeted violence as a premeditated act of violence directed at a specific individual, group, or location, regardless of motivation and generally unrelated to other criminal activity.

In addition to assassination, this term encompasses other types of violence that have beset communities across the United States, including mass shootings, workplace violence, school attacks, and acts of terrorism.

The Secret Service recognizes that preventing targeted violence is possible if communities are equipped with the training and resources necessary to identify individuals of concern, assess their risk of violence, and intervene appropriately, namely through behavioral threat assessment (also referred to as behavioral threat assessment and management or “BTAM”).

The Secret Service model has since been adapted to prevent all forms of targeted violence impacting communities in America, including acts of workplace violence, K–12 school shootings, terrorism, and mass attacks in public spaces.

In doing so, the BTAU will work alongside its partners to prevent the injury and loss of life that research continues to demonstrate is preventable.

When establishing a BTAU, law enforcement agencies must first recognize that targeted violence is preventable.

All BTAU members should understand that tragedies can be prevented by recognizing and appropriately intervening when warning signs of targeted violence are present.

Often, communities in the United States identify warning signs for acts of targeted violence after violence has already taken place.

When the Secret Service published research on averted school attack plots, the study affirmed that targeted violence is preventable when communities identify warning signs and intervene.

For over 25 years, NTAC’s research examining incidents of targeted violence has demonstrated that future tragedies are preventable if communities are equipped with the training and resources necessary to identify individuals of concern, assess their risk of violence, and intervene appropriately.

Everyone has a role to play in keeping communities safe, and the Secret Service stands ready to support our public safety partners in this vital mission.

Targeted violence: A premeditated act of violence directed at a specific individual, group, or location, regardless of motivation and generally unrelated to other criminal activity.