We wanted to introduce how an industry-leading organization takes very seriously its responsibility to manage threats to the company and its employees. A particular company employs more than 12,000 people in various settings, including customer facing clinics and retail centers, as well as, access controlled corporate environments, so managing threats is a real and challenging process. Fortunately, company leaders have taken steps to proactively assess and manage threatening situations through the creation of the threat management team. The threat management team is made up of subject matter experts from the Corporate Security, Human Resources and Legal departments. They are tasked with making decisions that protect the organizations’ employees and the company’s reputation. The goals are to intervene before an act of workplace violence is perpetrated, provide assistance to victims, protecting potential victims and company property, while de-escalating the suspect.
Every year, the team assesses numerous threatening incidents involving current and former employees, upset customers and others in the community in order to mitigate violence from spilling into the workplace. Often these situations are fluid and change happens rapidly, so clear, frequent communication is critical to the success of the threat management process. To facilitate the process, the team relies on preemptive mitigation strategies and policies already in place within the company.
For example, the company maintains a Workplace Violence Prevention policy and provides de-escalation training to customer facing teams. In addition, the company recently implemented a Workplace Violence Prevention Resources internal web page to increase employee awareness and provide information to help employees in identifying, reporting and preventing incidents of workplace violence. This type of communication is absolutely critical to a successful workplace violence prevention program.
In order to facilitate reporting, the company provides several methods and encourages employees to utilize these channels. The company relies on Corporate Security to vet the threat reports and activate the threat management team as appropriate. Once a report is received and vetted, the assessment process begins. This includes:
- Information gathering (i.e. background investigations, interviewing pertinent parties and maintaining contact with victims throughout the process)
- Implementing mitigation strategies
- Monitoring and managing, adjusting approach as information changes
We apply industry-accepted threat assessment tools and methodologies when assessing risks.
In order to better understand the idea of threat management, it is best to see it in action. In 2010, the team was faced with managing a particularly serious case involving an employee and her estranged spouse. We became involved the day the estranged spouse contacted the customer service line and told the representative he was thinking about doing harm to the building in which his ex-wife worked, and potentially to other employees in the building.
Immediately following the threatening call the information was forwarded to Corporate Security. Security confirmed that the person referenced by the caller was an employee working out of that particular location and immediately added security personnel to the site. Human Resources made contact with the employee that evening. She informed the team her husband had been arrested earlier in the evening after she contacted them to report the threats she had been receiving from him over the course of that day. Corporate Security also made contact with the local sheriff’s office to report the threat. Knowing that the husband was currently in custody, though unsure of how long he would remain police custody, the team had more time to conduct the investigation.
An interview with the employee is one of the first steps in the process with any follow-up background investigation. This serves two purposes, first to get a better understanding of our threatener and second, to gauge how forthcoming the reporting person has been with investigators. Establishing a rapport with and earning the trust of the victim is an extremely important part of the assessment process. A victim that is forthcoming with information is invaluable to the assessment process, as no one knows their threatener like the victim. We have found that many domestic violence victims are often fearful of reporting the violence or threats because of what they think it could mean for their employment status.
The investigation revealed that the spouse suffered from some mental instability, which was controlled relatively well by medication when he took the medication as prescribed. The team discovered the husband had years of contact with the local police department for a variety of violence-related issues. The spouse also exhibited a rapid escalation of warning behaviors indicating his risk of acting out violently was high. After the most recent arrest, he was arraigned and denied bail.
The husband was held in the local jail for approximately six months, where he received some treatment for his mental health problems. During this time, the team was engaged with the court system, local and federal law enforcement officials. The threat management team met regularly over the course of many months to address strategy changes based on the most recent information. Our focus became making preparations for what might happen once he was released from jail. To that end, the team had to rely on the flexibility of our staff members and technology vendor to make necessary changes to security staffing, more tightly controlling access to our facility and adjusting camera placements. Additionally, the team recommended working with the employee to come up with a mutually beneficial plan for her safety and the safety of her co-workers, by offering relocation or alternative working arrangements.
The local sheriff’s department remained engaged as well and met with the security team to conduct a vulnerability review of the property.
We utilized the following as a part of our strategy:
- Case management system to document updates to the incident, common repository for case information that was accessible to the team
- Video surveillance, moving or adding cameras, ensuring the highest image quality
- Active surveillance after the husband’s release to gauge current status
- Tightening access control to the specific location
- Appropriate communication for employees working in the location
- CPTED (bollards, shrubbery removal/additions, etc.) with local sheriff’s office Homeland Security team assessment recommendations
- Security officer personnel additions around key dates (immediately following the threat report and around the husband’s release date)
- Maintaining contact with Department of Corrections Probation/Parole Office
Later, when the husband was released on probation, he was subject to very strict requirements and special conditions in order to satisfy his probation:
- No contact with estranged wife or her family
- Banished from her place of employment
- Abide by divorce/custody orders
- Contact with children (if ordered) via 3rd party
- Submit to regular drug testing for alcohol or illegal substances
- Waiver of Dr./Client privilege for the purpose of providing documentation to Probation office regarding blood level of medications prescribed by his doctor. Waiver to allow Probation Officer to speak with doctor regarding psychotropic medications and treatment
- Must provide doctor’s name and contact information for every doctor treating him for mental issues
- Monthly testing to determine levels in blood of prescribed drugs
- Must provide copies of any prescriptions of pharmacy printouts to Probation Officer within 72 hours
- Probation to supervised in Full with No early termination or suspension without District Attorney and victim approval
- Cannot possess any firearms or weapons and cannot reside in any place that contains firearms
- Must take medication prescribed by doctor for mental illness
- Must waive his 4th Amendments rights as to search and seizure anytime day or night of his home, person, automobile, and effects with or without his consent
We formed a working relationship with the husband’s probation officer who provided regular status updates on him. A private investigations firm was engaged to conduct active surveillance after his release in order to obtain information on what his activities consisted of now; his behavior did not indicate he was actively planning to follow through on his original threats against the company.
Over the course of this year-long incident, the team was faced with making some challenging decisions. There were discussions about how long certain mitigation strategies should be kept in place or how best to help the employee, while also keeping in mind the safety of her fellow employees. Here are some additional common challenges to consider:
- Victim honesty (affected by fear of losing their employment and/or saving face)
- Availability of and timeliness in receiving information on the threatener (i.e. what public records are available, police reports, social media posts, text messages, voicemail messages, etc.)
- Victim safety outside of the workplace
In the end, we agreed that threat management is a challenging but, rewarding process. Having the capability to successfully mitigate violent situations, make a positive difference in an employee’s life, and continue to provide a safe and secure work environment for all your employees is deeply satisfying.
About the Author: Michelle P. Westbrook has over 14 years of experience as a Security Analyst specializing in Threat Management and Counter-Terrorism Intelligence. Michelle’s experience includes six years with state law enforcement before transitioning to the private sector. Michelle is currently a member of the corporate security department in Florida’s largest health solutions company. During her career, Michelle has conducted numerous background investigations, monitored threat groups, and managed hundreds of threat incidents. Michelle successfully implemented a corporate security intelligence program that includes monitoring and managing threats, analyzing security data and tracking trends.
Michelle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Florida and a Master of Science in Sociology from Florida State University. Michelle is a member of the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP) and ASIS International.
