Fatal Grievances: Forecasting and Preventing Active Killer Threats in School, Campus, and Workplace Settings takes a proactive view of active killer threat management and resolution with the goal of preventing the attack before it occurs.

Gregory M. Vecchi earned a B.S. in Management/Human Resources from Park University, Parkville, Missouri, an M.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He currently serves as a Professor of Criminal Justice and Homeland Security at Keiser University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and he is the Principal of VGI Consulting and Training. Dr. Vecchi has over 30 years of law enforcement experience. Dr. Vecchi formerly served as the Chief of the FBI Behavioral Science Unit and career FBI negotiator. In these positions, he gained extensive experience assessing and interacting with violent offenders, as well as researching, training, and conducting threat assessments. Dr. Vecchi has conducted dozens of workplace threat assessments for Fortune 500 companies.

Mary Ann Markey received a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Psychology from Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, and Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Ringling College of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida while continuing to conduct research on intra-family violence and homicide, mass murder, and serial murder.

Jeffrey A. Daniels earned a B.A. in Psychology at Metropolitan State University, Denver, Colorado, an M.S. in Counseling Psychology from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, Washington, and a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, Nebraska. He is currently a professor in the School of Counseling and Well-Being at West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia. Dr. Daniels has been engaged in research pertaining to violence and violence prevention for over 23 years and he has engaged in collaborative research with the FBI for over 16 years using Perpetrator-Motive Research Design.

Preface

Chapter 1. Introduction And Orientation to Active Killer Threat Assessment

• Scope of this book

• A paradigm shift from active shooters to active killers

• A change in mindset from being reactive to proactive

• Assessment versus analysis

• Threat intelligence collection and assessment

• The problem with "profiling" active killers

• The importance of operationalizing definitions

Chapter 2. Active Killer Characteristics: Myths Vs. Statistics

• Myth 1: active killers are everywhere

• Myth 2: active killers are only a problem in the United States

• Myth 3: disgruntled students and employees are the only threat to safety

• Myth 4: the attacker just "snapped"

• Myth 5: demographics can identify an active killer

Chapter 3. Direct Behaviors of Planned Lethal Violence

• Active killer motivations

• Grievance as a precursor of lethal violence

• Grievance and the crisis state

• The fatal grievance pathway

• Planned lethal violence

• Direct behaviors and stages of planned lethal violence

• Direct behavioral clusters of planned lethal violence

• The planned lethal violence stairway model

Chapter 4. Indirect Behavioral Indicators of Planned Lethal Violence And Situational Distressors

• Indirect behaviors

• Primary indirect behavioral indicators

• Secondary indirect behavioral indicators

• Stress and violence

• Situational distress

• Situational distressors

Chapter 5. Threat Management and Resolution: Identifying The Threat

• The necessity of structure in active killer threat assessment

• Forensic investigation and behavioral analytical methods

• Contextual factors

• Factors of social desirability

• The role of social fabric in threat assessment

• Detecting behavioral indicators of planned lethal violence

• Baselines and anomalies

• Establishing baselines and identifying anomalies

• Bias and error considerations in detecting concerning behavior

Chapter 6. Threat Management and Resolution: Assessing The Threat

• The problem with relying on "pre-attack behaviors" in threat assessment

• Understanding significancy and frequency of anomalies
• Prediction and threat assessment

• Forecasting in threat assessment

• Qualitative and quantitative forecasting

• Predictive analytics and modeling

• Predictive behavioral threat forecasting

• Methodology

• Qualitative adjustments to threat confidence levels

• Completing the threat assessment

• Bias errors in assessing a threat

Chapter 7. Threat Management and Resolution: Engaging The Threat

• Conflict management vs. conflict resolution

• Monitoring

• Third-party intervention

• Direct interventions

• Engagements based on threat level

Chapter 8. Limitations And Conclusion

• Summary of key takeaways

• Limitations

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Index

References