Community Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management (BTAM)

Behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) is a fact-based, systematic process designed to identify, assess, and manage potentially dangerous or violent situations. School safety experts, law enforcement officials, and the United States Departments of Education, Justice, Secret Service, and Federal Bureau of Education have cited research indicating that before a person commits an act of violence, warning signs are usually evident. The primary goal of BTAM is to evaluate the difference between making a threat and posing a threat to a community. Research and best practice guidelines indicate that a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach to behavioral threat assessment and management can identify effective interventions and supports, build a management plan that mitigates a potential threat and supports the safety of the entire community, while also helping the person(s) toward a more positive pathway (NASP, 2021).

The Community Behavioral Threat Assessment & Management Program hopes to prevent targeted acts of violence in the community through the implementation and management of intervention strategies. The Community BTAM will:

• Identify and assess concerning behaviors,
• Implement and manage intervention strategies, and
• Prevent targeted acts of violence in our community.

Pathway to Violence

Research specific to targeted violence suggests that individuals often follow a “pathway to violence” in which individuals move from thinking about using violence to planning and executing those intentions. According to Calhoun and Weston (2003), the “pathway to violence” includes the following stages.