5 credits

Students in this course engage in an advanced exploration of the principles of threat assessment and management. They examine strategies and specific techniques for how to identify and analyze threats, evaluate warning behaviors, determine if a person poses a threat, analyze steps in the threat assessment process, and assess the pathway to violence. Additionally, they investigate the management phase of the threat assessment process, including mitigating factors and strategies to manage threat and the critical importance of utilizing the entire trained threat assessment team (e.g., mental health, administration, law enforcement) when conducting threat assessments. This course also explores biases and myths related to targeted school violence and workplace offenders. Students will synthesize and apply their threat assessment knowledge to case study scenarios across threat settings (e.g., K-12, institutions of higher education (IHE), workplace).

Disclaimer:
The intent of this course is to provide you with a comprehensive overview of empirical-based literature regarding the concepts of the threat assessment and management process. The course is not intended to provide you with the skills required to conduct and/or manage threat assessments. Before you begin, a word of caution: This course contains content which may be disturbing and/or triggering. If you find yourself struggling with the content, you may want to reach out to Walden’s Student Assistance Program, which offers students free and confidential counseling on a variety of personal and professional issues that may be affecting the quality of their learning experiences.  Should you require support, please contact the Walden Student Assistance Program found on your student portal.