Assessment procedures in anonymously written threats of harm and violence
van der Vegt,Isabelle Gregory,Pippa van der Meer,Bram B. Yang,Junyi Kleinberg,Bennett Gill,Paul
van der Vegt,Isabelle
Gregory,Pippa
van der Meer,Bram B.
Yang,Junyi
Kleinberg,Bennett
Gill,Paul
Abstract
Anonymously written threats constitute a special form of worrying behavior, in which the author of a threat decides to hide their identity. Importantly, anonymous threats are an increasingly common issue exacerbated by online communication. Anonymity raises additional challenges for threat assessors, but little is known about how practitioners approach such cases. Although a large body of research exists concerning assessment procedures of nonanonymous cases, little is known about how experts approach a case based merely on communications and in the absence of detailed contextual information. Therefore, the present study serves to gain a better picture of the assessment procedures associated with anonymous threatening communications (ATCs). Extensive semistructured interviews were conducted with expert threat assessors, in which participants were asked about their general approach to ATCs, as well as their thoughts regarding a real-life case. Responses were qualitatively coded, in order to reveal common themes and divergent approaches. Based on the results obtained, we formulate eight recommendations for the furtherance of the field of anonymous threat assessment.
Description
Date
2022-01-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
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Keywords
anonymous threatening communication, threat assessment, worrying communication, written threats
Citation
van der Vegt, I, Gregory, P, van der Meer, B B, Yang, J, Kleinberg, B & Gill, P 2022, 'Assessment procedures in anonymously written threats of harm and violence', Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1037/tam0000168