Threat assessment and threat management occur within the evolving context of legal issues that both enhance and restrict threat investigation and intervention activities. Legal issues affecting threat management practice in Europe and the United States include criminal code statutes and case law that define relevant crimes such as stalking, criminal threats, domestic violence, and other violent crimes that fall within the purview of threat assessors. Additional issues include civil commitment procedures such as involuntary hospitalization, as well as bail and probation conditions. New developments in threat management–related laws are usually precipitated by tragedy and violence. Most recently, in the United States, this led to red flag laws and Extreme Risk Protection Orders in the aftermath of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting in 2018. Similarly, in Germany, the suicide of a stalking victim has resulted in greater sensitivity by the legal system to victim impact in stalking cases. Red flag law preliminary research data related to threat reduction have been promising, and ideally the impact of legislative changes in multiple threat management contexts on victim safety should continue to be assessed so that evidence informs violence risk legal responses.
Threat Management Dashboard for a Blockchain Collaborative Defense
