National Threat Assessment Center research and mandate

The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) was created in 1998 to provide guidance on threat assessment both within the U.S. Secret Service and to others with criminal justice and public safety responsibilities.

Through the Presidential Threat Protection Act of 2000, Congress formally authorized NTAC to conduct research on threat assessment and other types of targeted violence; provide training on threat assessment and targeted violence; facilitate information-sharing among agencies with protective and/or public safety responsibilities; provide case consultation on individual threat assessment investigations and for agencies building threat assessment units; and develop programs to promote the standardization of federal, state, and local threat assessment processes and investigations.

Following the tragedy at Columbine High School in 1999, the Secret Service developed the field of BTAM in schools through a partnership with the Department of Education to examine targeted violence in K-12 schools and create protocols to help prevent future tragedies (Vossekuil et al., 2002).

For over twenty years, NTAC’s research on both school attacks (2019) and averted attacks (2021) has shown that there is no accurate or useful profile of the type of individual who will carry out or plan an attack.

Rather, research shows that students display a variety of observable, concerning behaviors as they escalate toward violence.

Research has shown there is no accurate or useful profile of a student who will engage in targeted violence, but they often display concerning behaviors before perpetrating an attack (NTAC, 2019, 2021).

Following the tragic school shootings in Parkland, FL and Santa Fe, TX in 2018, the Secret Service launched an initiative to provide updated research and guidance to school personnel and other public safety partners on the prevention of school-based violence.

Such approaches that promote successful outcomes for all students can decrease the risk of harm to the school community (National Threat Assessment Center, 2021).

To learn more about the implementation of behavioral threat assessment and management (BTAM) in K-12 settings and NTAC’s research, see Enhancing School Safety Using a Threat Assessment Model, Protecting America’s Schools, Averting Targeted School Violence, and Improving School Safety Through Bystander Reporting.