The most effective threat management teams are equipped to identify, assess, and manage emerging concerns before they become tragic or costly events. Yet, in recent years there has been a significant shift in workplace dynamics and stressors that are contributing to an increasing threat landscape. It is crucial for corporate security experts and the organizations they serve to understand and adapt to these changes.
Emerging trends and tactics in threat management
While features of the threat management landscape are always evolving, the last few years have seen an unusually high amount of local and global changes that are impacting organizations. New stressors, workplace dynamics, and an increasing normalizing of hateful rhetoric are among the many factors contributing to that trend.
Understanding and adapting to these changes is critical for threat management experts and the organizations they serve. The best threat management teams have the people, training, tools, and experience to effectively identify, assess, and manage potential threats before they escalate into a tragic incident.
New realities contributing to the risk of workplace violence
Concerning trends in workplace violence incidents highlight some of the ways in which the threat management landscape is changing. The modality, or way that threats or fear-inducing messages are communicated, is on the rise across sectors, including digital or cyberstalking.
With so much of our lives now conducted online, and with digital tools and platforms proliferating, there are so many more ways for people to uncover private information, gain access to personal details, and leverage them for nefarious purposes. Whether or not digital stalking escalates to other forms of harassment, the victim impact can be the same because the purpose is to generate fear and coerce compliance.
Social media has also changed the game. Even members of senior leadership teams are engaging differently in social media, introducing the potential for both individual and organizational risk. The ability for an individual or group to dramatically increase the intensity and scope of their threatening communications in a very short period can quickly overwhelm an organization. In addition, the seeming permanence of electronic history also means that problematic individuals can remain connected to your company beyond separation, elevating the impact of any post-termination bad behavior.
Pinkerton is also seeing a significant increase in requests for physical penetration testing, a type of physical probing that allows a low-risk learning opportunity, in part because more people are coming back to the workplace after years of remote or hybrid operations. Many people hired shortly before or during the pandemic are now interacting for the first time in person, without any experience with the organization’s security culture.
Finally, organizations are asking tough questions like, “How do I as an employer protect employees working from home?”
More organizations are exploring these issues and erring on the side of caution, by not only taking new threats seriously but by being more thoughtful and proactively evolving their approach to threat management. There is also a corresponding awareness of the scale of the consequences in today’s world. Understanding they could be irreparably harmed, organizations are seeking expert guidance on protecting their people, intellectual property, facilities, clients, customers, and the public. In a rapidly changing threat landscape, they recognize the need to increase protection and reduce liability amidst the presence of untrustworthy sources.
Evolving threat management expertise
Faced with new threats, more organizations are turning to third-party solutions that are rooted in the science of workplace violence and threat management. Pinkerton has adapted our threat management program to meet these emerging threats and address changing client needs with world-class threat management programs that are defensible, consistent, humane, multidisciplinary, and informed by science.
Defensible
A threat management program should be in full compliance with all applicable local, national, and international laws, regulations, and policies. Compliance — and always acting in accordance with a code of conduct and a code of ethics — is critical to protect stakeholders and partners from potential liability from threat management decision-making.
Consistent
Consistency is critical. We apply scientific rigor to our threat assessment and management process in order to increase reliability, improve accuracy, and identify patterns and trends within our assessments that can better inform our clients. Consistency also facilitates effective collaboration and communication among our practitioners and researchers. Lastly, it ensures we minimize the potential for bias by ensuring the procedures, protocols, and methodologies are followed, which leads to a more objective and reliable assessment.
Humane
Pinkerton preserves human dignity for all parties involved in a threat investigation, including the subject(s). This is both a moral imperative and a tactical best practice. Being humane and respectful is simply the right thing to do, and it also helps engender trust and reduce the potential for violent action or other acting out.
Multidisciplinary
Threat management in today’s world is, by necessity, a multidisciplinary process. Everybody, from HR and Legal to law enforcement, has a critical role to play. Pinkerton’s threat management clients benefit from insights and expertise provided by a diverse multidisciplinary team, a group that includes a trained operational psychologist (with clinical, forensic, and operational expertise), certified threat managers with deep investigative experience across multiple sectors, intelligence analysts with training in identifying behavioral indicators, and personnel who specialize in the HR and legal aspects of threat management. This diverse and complementary range of experts with specialized expertise helps to break down the siloed communications that can hinder threat management strategies.
Science Based
Modern threat management programs need to be rooted in empirical research. Pinkerton’s threat management tactics and strategies are firmly based on scientific literature and professional best practices. Our licensed experts are fully certified in their respective fields, and our clients and partners can be confident that our recommendations are based on industry best practices supported by peer-reviewed literature.
A proven threat management process is crucial
When it comes to threat management, the process is just as important as the available resources. Pinkerton’s process is methodical, thorough, and well-defined, while designed to maximize efficiency and deliver effective threat management solutions.
The first step is to meet with the client and discuss their concerns, including whether there is a need for a more targeted analysis. If a threat assessment is appropriate, our threat management team begins with a SCOUT Life Safety Report then reviews the information and determines the best approach and strategy. This may include appropriate scientifically validated protocols or structured professional judgment tools, such as the Stalking Risk Profile or the Workplace Assessment of Violent Risk - 21.
Pinkerton coordinates with clients to determine if and how to best integrate the organization and relevant departments into our team and process. Subsequently, our team develops a detailed assessment, including a comprehensive threat management plan, which might include surveillance and/or protection teams. Protecting people, property, and reputation is our priority, and Pinkerton will coordinate with law enforcement agencies when appropriate.
While timelines can vary somewhat depending on the nature of the client and the extent of a potential threat, we remain in constant communication with our client representatives from the initial call to the after-action review. In the face of new and emerging threat management realities, it’s a combination of efficiency, flexibility, and detailed analysis that is ideally designed to identify, assess, and manage threats before they escalate to a violent encounter.
