Violence Assessment and Intervention: The Practitioner’s Handbook

254 Pages·2003·3.454 MB·English

by  Michael H. Corcoran, James S. Cawood

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Violence Assessment
and Intervention:
The Practitioner’s
Handbook
by
Michael H. Corcoran
and
James S. Cawood
©2003 CRC Press LLC
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Corcoran, Michael H.
Violence assessment and intervention : the practitioner’s handbook / Michael H.
Corcoran, James. S. Cawood.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8493-1510-7 (alk. paper)
1. Violence. 2. Violence--Prevention. 3. Violence--Social aspects. 4.
Violence--Psychological aspects I. Cawood, James S. II. Title.
HM1116.C67 2003
303.6—dc21 2002041775
This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material
is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable
efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and the publisher cannot
assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use.
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© 2003 by CRC Press LLC
No claim to original U.S. Government works
International Standard Book Number 0-8493-1510-7
Library of Congress Card Number 2002041775
Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
Printed on acid-free paper
©2003 CRC Press LLC
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Preface
Welcome to our guide. We are writing this book for you, the practitioner
who is faced on a regular basis with receiving calls from frightened people
who want you to keep them safe. It doesn’t matter whether you are a mental
health practitioner, a security or human resources professional, an attorney,
police, probation or parole officer, or a risk evaluator in the mental health
field; when you receive that call you realize you do not have the luxury of
having perfect information, but you may still need to act now. This book is
for you.
Between the two of us, we have handled these phone calls for more than
40 years in a variety of contexts. This includes experience in federal and
municipal law enforcement, and as consultants to federal and state agencies,
as well as private and public corporations. We continue to handle them on
a daily basis as part of our practice. Although this book’s primary focus is
anchored in North American laws and nuances, both of us have worked and
continue to work internationally. From this experience, we have learned that
coreassessment and resolution principles, being behaviorally based, are uni-
versal, regardless of culture or geography.
We have structured the book into three main sections for the purpose
of addressing different approaches to the material and to provide us an
opportunity to show different aspects of the entire process. The first section,
titled Fusion, will show the process and flow of our violence assessment
model from the perspective of the initial call or “notice event” and the
essential steps to initially quantify the situation as well as make the first
decisions concerning proper and immediate response. We will show that it
is in managing this “notice event” and understanding its place in the contin-
uum of the behavior (what has come before and what may come after),
success or failure of the resolution can be found. You may find this section
reflects the most similarity with what you do every day; it will serve as an
overview for the entire guide.
Section two, Assessment, has been structured to provide information
concerning the essential informational components and processes required
toprovide a thorough and accurate assessment. The chapters in this section
cover information gathering, victimology and formulas for assessment. In
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the appendices of these chapters are practical tools developed by the authors
and others for use in guiding the assessment process, speeding information
gathering and providing actuarial frameworks for information analysis. We
have not attempted to provide a detailed log of every available instrument
or tool that we might have used or believe may prove to be valuable to you,
because our intent is not to make judgments. We simply want to provide you
with practical information we know to be useful and effective based on our
day-to-day work.
In section three, Case Management, we cover organizational influences,
security issues and the laws related to violence assessment. In this section we
not only want to cover the obvious issues, but to provide a perspective that
might allow you to go beyond your current perception of these elements and
acquire new appreciation and understanding of how these areas can provide
better case outcomes.
For the professionals reading this guide, we have attempted to provide
references to the literature, when applicable. However, we do not intend this
guide to be a detailed academic work that attempts to reflect the breadth of
literature available for assessing potential violent behavior. We want this book
toprovide practical, proven ideas and tools for case evaluation and manage-
ment. If you come away with at least one new idea, tool or practical solution
to an assessment or intervention problem, we have accomplished our goal.
Wewould also hope that reading and using this guide will motivate you
to share your knowledge with others, whenever and however you can. Only
in the sharing of practical, effective methods of violence assessment and
intervention can we continue to increase the safety of the people we are all
responsible for protecting.
We hope that you enjoy our handbook and continue to be interested in
improving the safety of the communities you serve.
©2003 CRC Press LLC
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Acknowledgments
Someone once said that knowledge, in the end, is really about acknowledg-
ment. I would concur; it is about acknowledging that my skill and ability
aren’t as much about what I know, but what others knew and helped me to
learn … even when they might have been completely unaware of their
instruction. Unfortunately, I know that once I begin listing those to whom
I am eternally grateful, I will overlook many others. Ah, the perils of author-
ship! So here is my partial list of acknowledgements:
My parents, especially my mother, who taught me how to respond to
violence and not just react.
Dave Byers, a wise street cop who taught me how to be “street smart”
and stay alive by “catching more flies with honey than vinegar.”
Robert E. Powis, the “West Coast Director,” who taught about the rewards
in developing a passion for working hard, despite long hours and crazy
conditions.
The primary researchers, theorists and explorers of assessing violence
(Monahan, Dietz, Meloy, etc.) who challenged my insights to better my
awareness; who helped me understand how I was able to grasp others’ behav-
ior and who pushed me to believe there is always more.
My co-author, Jim Cawood, without whose intelligent insights, challeng-
ing beliefs, logical disagreements and patience to focus my “spinning-wheel-
of-knowledge” I would never have finished this book.
And finally, my wife Valene, whose unconditional love and support gave
me the comfort and reassurance to keep going … despite my frequent claims
of being too busy.
—Michael H. Corcoran
This book could not have been possible without the efforts of a great
many people. We would both like to acknowledge those people for helping
us reach this point of our careers and helping this book emerge from our
minds and collective experience.
I would like to first acknowledge my wife, who has worked with me for
the last 17 years and has continually provided her encouragement, expertise
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and feedback. Thanks to my father and mother for showing me in their own
ways that curiosity and finding your own way in the world are lifelong
pursuits that are enjoyable and essential parts of a life worth living. Thanks
to Steve McIntire, who was in at the beginning of the work and is a brother
togrowwith. Thanks to various colleagues who have taught, encouraged and
collaborated along the way — Dr. Steve White, Dr. Jolee Brunton, the late
Phil Hyde and Dr. Chris Hatcher, Bill Zimmerman, Steve Weston, Jeff Dunn,
Dr. Glenn Lipson, Wayne Maxey, Dr. J. Reid Meloy, Kate Killeen, Lois Benes,
Dr. Kris Mohandie, Dr. Mike Gelles, Dr. Stephen Hart, David Bruce, Jodi
Juskie, Bill Fitchett, Jr., Barb Martinez, Kathy Schnake, Paul DuBois, Tony
Beard, Gary Reynolds, Pat Lenzi, Dave Wysuph, Ron Pennington and a myr-
iad of others who cannot be named here. Special thanks to Ryann Haw for
her excellent research efforts — she will be a bright new light in psychology.
Last, but certainly not least, thanks to my coauthor, Dr. Mike Corcoran, for
working through this project with me, and to our editors for their interest,
trust, patience and guidance.
—James S. Cawood
©2003 CRC Press LLC
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Authors
Michael H. Corcoran, Ph.D.,president of The Workthreat Group, LLC, has
been specializing in identifying and handling potentially violent subjects for
more than 30 years. He provides threat assessments, determinations of the
true potential of violence and criminal profiling for government, law enforce-
ment agencies, businesses, school districts and private individuals around
the world. In the law enforcement field since 1968, Dr. Corcoran has served
in the U.S. Secret Service and as a municipal police officer.
Dr. Corcoran has taught classes on how to recognize, confront and con-
trol suicidal and mentally ill substance abusers or combative populations at
various colleges, law enforcement academies and Fortune 500 companies
across the country. He has established protocols for evaluating and dealing
with personnel; either pre- or post hiring to avoid conflict, assess the potential
of violence and to determine truthfulness. He has also assisted in designing,
implementing, training and advising hostage or crisis negotiation teams for
local law enforcement agencies and private concerns.
One of the original founding members and a national board member of
the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals, Dr. Corcoran has helped
write policies and procedures and consult on these workplace violence issues
for the Police Officers Research Association of California, the International
Association of Chiefs of Police, the Department of Justice, the American Red
Cross and numerous other such organizations across the country. He fre-
quently travels across America to lecture and conduct training seminars for
businesses and school districts on the elements of workplace violence, includ-
ing identifying and handling the potentially violent subject.
James S. Cawood, CPPis president of Factor One which is a California-
based corporation specializing in violence assessment, security consulting
and investigations. He has worked in the area of violence assessment and
prevention, security analysis and incident resolution for the last 18 years,
with a total security career spanning more than 20 years. He has successfully
assessed and managed more than 1800 violence-related cases for federal and
state government agencies, public and private corporations and other busi-
ness entities throughout the United States. Mr. Cawood has also provided
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consultation and training to these same types of organizations on the design
and implementation of threat assessment and incident response protocols.
This included participation in the development of the P.O.S.T. (Peace Officers
Standards and Training) telecourse on workplace violence for California and
Arizona law enforcement, as well as participation in the development of a
threat assessment protocol by the California District Attorney’s Association
for use in training judges, district attorneys and others in the California
justice system. He also has served as an expert witness in dozens of cases
involving questions concerning investigative and security issues, including
threat assessment and violence in the workplace.
Mr. Cawood has served as the president of the Northern California
Chapter of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals; on the Amer-
ican Society of Industrial Security Foundation Board, where he was secretary;
as the chairman of the Board of the California Association of Licensed Inves-
tigators; he also has served as chairman of their legislative committee.
Mr. Cawood is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley and
has served on the faculties of Golden Gate University, in its Security Man-
agement degree program; and the University of California, Santa Cruz exten-
sion, teaching Threat Management. He is a Certified Protection Professional,
Certified Security Professional, Certified Professional Investigator, Certified
Fraud Examiner and Diplomate, American Board of Forensic Examiners. He
has written articles and book chapters for various professional publications
including Security Management magazine, the Protection of Assets Manual,
theAccident Prevention Manual for Business & Industry — Security Manage-
ment;Safety, Health and Asset Protection: Management Essentials, 2nd Edition;
and The Psychology of Stalking: Clinical and Forensic Perspective.
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Table of Contents
Section I
Introduction
1
Fusion
The Call
Notification
Assessment
Security
Legal
Interventions and Monitoring
Summary
Section II
Part 1Assessment
2
Violence Assessment: The Victim’s Role
Introduction
Physical Concepts
Case History
Case History
Emotional Concepts
Case History
Psychological Concepts
The Domineering Victim
The Fantasy Victim
The Ineffectual Victim
The “Nice-Guy” Victim
The “Romantically Involved” Victim
The Criminal Victim
Summary
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