2017

This review of literature provides a comprehensive account of the instigative
factors, history, and evolution of threat assessment teams (TATs) for target-based
violence in institutions of higher education (IHEs). Through examining diverse
approaches to threat assessment, this review investigates the most effective
criteria for creating protocols to identify and manage threats of target-based
violence. The objective is to provide a greater understanding of the precursors
and warning signs to threats of violence, including an understanding of what
psychosocial factors impel students to enact mass murder, so that TATs can
implement preventative strategies to school violence. The generalized findings of
the majority of studies point to the necessity for a multi-disciplinary team
referencing fact-based predictors of violence, yet applying an individualized and
preventative approach to each case of suspected violence.

Keywords: threat assessment teams, school violence, target-based violence