The Forensic Files

Leadership

Threat Assessment Team Negligence: The Taft Union Case

J. Reid Meloy Ph.D. on October 23, 2022

Are there rules that guide threat assessment teams in high schools? There are now.

Are there rules that guide threat assessment teams in high schools? There are now.

What are the ingredients in the toxic stew of extremist ideology?

Icon intimidation often stops investigation and prosecution of criminal sexual predation. A forensic psychologist
and retired FBI criminal profiler explain why.

What are the factors which make entertainment venues an attractive target for mass murderers?

Motivation

Public Figure Attackers in the United States, 1995-2015

J. Reid Meloy Ph.D. on June 3, 2017

What motivates those who violently attack public figures? A new study reveals some surprising findings.

What motivates those who violently attack public figures? A new study reveals some surprising findings.

Mass murder is trending, and contagion, cultural scripts, and cyberspace play a role

The warning behavior of identification may be useful to assess risk for targeted violence by lone terrorists and other attackers of civilians.

Psychological abstracts are phrases shouted loudly and with great emotion prior to a mass murder by many perpetrators. They convey the conscious rationale for the act, which typically masks other, more personal motivations. "Allahu Akbar!" is such an abstract for violent jihadists, but is an authoritarian perversion of a peaceful and personal religious utterance.

Analyzing the three components of motivation when a lone terrorist embarks on a pathway toward violence in the workplace.

The role of firearms, mental disorder, planning and preparation, the illusion of "snapping," and the dynamics of Knoll's "revenge and obliteration" are emphasized.