Understanding what constitutes a threat and how to
accurately perform a threat assessment are no longer just tasks
for the law enforcement and military communities. With the
present threat of terrorism and criminal syndicates escalating
in America and abroad, we as a people-all people from all
nations, must learn or enhance skills to adapt to these evergrowing threats. We must become increasingly vigilant in our
daily lives so that we can better protect our families and our
nation.
Consider an educated people can stand stronger and
more ready to develop effective countermeasures against
those who would try to do us harm.
There are several key factors that will help you
identify and evaluate potential threats. Reviewing these basic
elements can help you analyze most situations quickly so that
you can institute any action.
Begin your assessment by evaluating the individual’s
behavior. This is not always an easy task, as behavior can be
masked, but take a careful look and you will see things beneath
the surface of that individual or group of individuals that will
help you identify the potential for dangerous behavior and
violence.
Look at the general appearance, make mental notes
as to whether this individual or group fits any known profile
that you have seen or heard of. How are they dressed? Again
make mental notes of their clothing, hair and footwear as well
as any visible markings such as birthmarks, scars and tattoos.
Look at things like physical stature and body
language-how they stand, do they stand upright with an air of
confidence or are they slouched over?
What is the position of their head relative to their
body? Does their posture or stance lead you to believe that
they may be aggressive? Can you determine if they are right or
left handed?
Do they seem nervous? Look for signs of nervousness
in either a physical manifestation such as twitching, repetitive
hand, finger, foot or eye movements or verbally in their speech
patterns.
Overall, do they seem cool, calm and collected, volatile and
rash, or cool and concealing? Look at their eyes and what they
are focused on or not focused on. Do they seem to be trying to
hide or mask their stares?
When assessing these characteristics and qualities begin to
identify physical and/or psychological weaknesses. Listen
to identify language, tone of the voice (angry, calm, violent,
commanding), content of the language if recognizable, or
sudden eruptions in speech patterns. Try to sum up their
overall presentation to determine intent. Intent indicates the
dangerousness of the situation you are confronted with.
Once you have determined the dangerousness of
the situation, you must immediately scan for weapons. First
look at the hands for immediate threats, look for traditional
weapons such as guns, knives and other edged weapons but
also be aware that weapons can take the form and shape of
almost anything-even things we are familiar and comfortable
with.
Look at backpacks, briefcases, fanny packs, purses, handbags,
and shopping bags. Be aware of unattended and abandoned
items such as these and others, which may be left behind on
purpose. Scan for anything that overtly resembles a bomb
or other explosive device, or anything that could be used to
conceal one.
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