How Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Teams Make American Communities Safer

How Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Teams Make American Communities Safer 

In 2021, the Michigan State Police Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM) team received reports that a person had been leaving multiple voicemails for a state senator, repeatedly coming to the senator’s office building demanding to speak with the senator, and stating he was going to buy a gun and return to the office. The person was facing employment and financial concerns and had experienced multiple traumatic brain injuries. He also had positive influences in his life, including healthy relationships with his adult daughter and young granddaughter. While this person’s statements were concerning, there was no evidence of pre-attack behavior and therefore no cause for investigation. 

The BTAM team created a case management and mitigation plan to monitor the person’s behavior and provide appropriate threat management services. This included giving the person appropriate avenues to engage the senator, such as writing letters, attending open forums, and voicing concerns without making threatening statements. The team provided him with the paperwork needed to solve some issues with his driver’s license, allowing him to obtain a valid license again. The team also encouraged him to talk about his concerns with his daughter, allow her to assist him, and set a positive example for his granddaughter. Since the team worked with this person, he has not engaged in any concerning behavior. 

This case shows how the use of BTAM can help communities identify and address potential threats of violence, as well as connect individuals in need of assistance to services and resources. BTAM models are increasingly used by schools, workplaces, and law enforcement. Through federal grant funding and technical assistance, the Department of Homeland Security’ has supported the development of dozens of BTAM teams in communities across the U.S.  

Preventing Mass Violence 

People who plan to commit violence often communicate their intention to others. Over the past several decades, 81% of school shooters and 44% of mass casualty attackers “leaked” their plans. While law enforcement can investigate specific and imminent threats, a significant number of these situations do not meet the threshold for investigation friends and family may observe concerning behaviors but not know how to intervene, or they may hesitate to involve law enforcement when no crime has been committed yet.  

When BTAM is in place, the multidisciplinary team of threat assessment and management experts gathers information to evaluate if the individual poses a risk of harm and then identifies appropriate interventions, resources, and support systems to manage that risk. These teams include law enforcement, healthcare providers, educators, legal and mental health professionals, and other community leaders who can help individuals take steps in a positive direction and find other ways to resolve their situations without harming themselves or others. This approach also saves costly law enforcement investigation resources while providing appropriate and necessary support to individuals in crisis.  

CP3’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program provided funding in fiscal years 2020-2023 that led to nearly 1,200 interventions — 93% of which were handled by BTAM teams and did not require referrals for law enforcement investigations. In addition to saving lives, investing in a proactive approach like BTAM yields significant economic returns. A break-even analysis by RAND showed that BTAM interventions are a fraction of the cost of criminal investigations, trials, incarcerations, and attack recovery.  

BTAM in Practice 

Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) in Florida used TVTP Grant funding (FY21, 23, and 24) to develop a co-response team that pairs trained officers with mental health clinicians to assess and manage potential threats. The program began shortly after the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. PBSO has successfully averted multiple threats of mass violence, increased the number of incoming referrals, and strengthened the office’s ability to triage, differentiate and respond effectively. For example, PBSO co-responders were able to detain an individual at the Palm Beach State college campus who threatened mass violence, provide access to support, and prevent them from causing harm.  

“The key to our success has been constant reassessment and reaching for input from our community and law enforcement partners on how we can improve — what we're doing well and where we need improvement,” Foley said. In Palm Beach County, a task force of over 150 local, state, and federal analysts and mental health providers continues to meet every quarter for training and planning next steps. 

“When we first started this, we did not have a lot of buy-in from local law enforcement or the community,” Foley said. “We were averaging maybe one referral a week at that time. Last year we had 1,100 referrals, and those are the high-risk ones. Community relationships are how we went from one referral a week to over 1,000 a year.” 

PBSO has also hosted multiple Palm Beach County Threat Management Team Conferences to discuss lessons learned from mass casualty events, building and sustaining threat management teams, enhancing threat assessment skills, developing partnerships, and resource building. 

Foley said, “Over time, I was able to go around the country talking to chiefs of police and showing: ‘This is our program — we're not saying you have to do it exactly like this, but you need to do something. We owe it to our communities to keep them safe.’” 

Supporting State and Local Initiatives 

BTAM is also a foundational element of state targeted violence and terrorism prevention strategies. Six states have published TVTP strategies over the past few years (Colorado, Florida, Hawai’i, Illinois, New York, and Texas), and eight additional states are currently in the drafting or publication process. Another 15 states have expressed interest in working with CP3 on a state strategy, some of which are taking initial steps toward drafting. For state governments that request support, CP3 provides guidance for developing structured plans for ensuring community safety and preventing targeted violence.  

CP3 Deputy Director Jenny Presswalla encourages state governments, law enforcement, and other prevention partners to reach out to CP3 when they are seeking financial and technical support to implement prevention practices.  

“BTAM is a tool that is directly stopping someone before they commit an act of violence,” Presswalla said. “Many of our partners want to do this and seek recommendations from us on how to do so. We can connect them to other teams using BTAM, set up trainings with experts for them, walk them through strategy development, and help them find state-level funding to sustain the work over time.” 

Resources for Communities Interested in BTAM