Report page 20

BTAUs can also be established within local law enforcement agencies, including city police departments and sheriff’s offices.

For example, in July of 1990, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) established the Threat Management Unit (TMU) due to a disturbing increase in obsessive, fixated, and sometimes violent behavior directed at high-profile public figures.

The TMU was initially created to facilitate direct reporting of and a timely response to the stalking behaviors of those who persistently attempted to contact area celebrities.

The LAPD determined there was a need to develop a specialized unit capable of providing nontraditional law enforcement services to intervene and manage individuals of concern before the potential for violence escalated further.

Today, the TMU is responsible for investigating and providing early intervention for aggravated stalking cases, criminal threat cases directed at elected city officials, and workplace violence cases involving city employees and departments, with the overall aim of managing cases before violence occurs.

The TMU also staffs the Los Angeles City Threat Assessment Team and liaises to maintain relationships with entertainment studios, the Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the California Highway Patrol’s Dignitary Protection Unit, and other similar units.

As another example, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) in Florida established its Threat Management Division in 2021.

The Threat Management Division’s mission is to identify indicators of potential targeted violence as early as possible and to act before they become actual threats or result in violence.

In addition to its specific threat management functions, the 71-member division also houses the agency’s mental health unit, mass casualty planning unit, and intelligence lead policing section.

These units work in concert to prevent targeted violence by identifying, assessing, and managing individuals who have exhibited concerning behavior; providing field-based mental health services; assessing site safety at schools and other critical infrastructure; and conducting active assailant response training.

Public schools in Florida are mandated by law to have threat management programs, but PCSO also operates a dedicated school-based threat management program for private schools throughout Pinellas County.

PCSO has partnered with several multidisciplinary community entities, including community mental health providers, school district representatives, the local prosecutor’s office, and the state probation office, all of whom meet weekly to support open threat management cases.