CRC Press, Violence Assessment and Intervention (2003) EEn_.pdf

Violence Assessment

and Intervention:

The Practitioner’s

Handbook

Michael H. Corcoran

and

James S. Cawood

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Corcoran, Michael H.

Violence assessment and intervention : the practitioner’s handbook / Michael H.

Corcoran, James. S. Cawood.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8493-1510-7 (alk. paper)

1. Violence. 2. Violence--Prevention. 3. Violence--Social aspects. 4.

Violence--Psychological aspects I. Cawood, James S. II. Title.

HM1116.C67 2003

303.6—dc21

2002041775

This book contains information obtained from authentic and highly regarded sources. Reprinted material

is quoted with permission, and sources are indicated. A wide variety of references are listed. Reasonable

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assume responsibility for the validity of all materials or for the consequences of their use.

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No claim to original U.S. Government works

International Standard Book Number 0-8493-1510-7

Library of Congress Card Number 2002041775

Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0

Printed on acid-free paper

Preface

Welcome to our guide. We are writing this book for you, the practitioner

who is faced on a regular basis with receiving calls from frightened people

who want you to keep them safe. It doesn’t matter whether you are a mental

health practitioner, a security or human resources professional, an attorney,

police, probation or parole ofﬁcer, or a risk evaluator in the mental health

ﬁeld; when you receive that call you realize you do not have the luxury of

having perfect information, but you may still need to act now. This book is

for you.

Between the two of us, we have handled these phone calls for more than

40 years in a variety of contexts. This includes experience in federal and

municipal law enforcement, and as consultants to federal and state agencies,

as well as private and public corporations. We continue to handle them on

a daily basis as part of our practice. Although this book’s primary focus is

anchored in North American laws and nuances, both of us have worked and

continue to work internationally. From this experience, we have learned that

core assessment and resolution principles, being behaviorally based, are uni-

versal, regardless of culture or geography.

We have structured the book into three main sections for the purpose

of addressing different approaches to the material and to provide us an

opportunity to show different aspects of the entire process. The ﬁrst section,

titled Fusion, will show the process and ﬂow of our violence assessment

model from the perspective of the initial call or “notice event” and the

essential steps to initially quantify the situation as well as make the ﬁrst

decisions concerning proper and immediate response. We will show that it

is in managing this “notice event” and understanding its place in the contin-

uum of the behavior (what has come before and what may come after),

success or failure of the resolution can be found. You may ﬁnd this section

reﬂects the most similarity with what you do every day; it will serve as an

overview for the entire guide.

Section two, Assessment, has been structured to provide information

concerning the essential informational components and processes required

to provide a thorough and accurate assessment. The chapters in this section

cover information gathering, victimology and formulas for assessment. In

the appendices of these chapters are practical tools developed by the authors

and others for use in guiding the assessment process, speeding information

gathering and providing actuarial frameworks for information analysis. We

have not attempted to provide a detailed log of every available instrument

or tool that we might have used or believe may prove to be valuable to you,

because our intent is not to make judgments. We simply want to provide you

with practical information we know to be useful and effective based on our

day-to-day work.

In section three, Case Management, we cover organizational inﬂuences,

security issues and the laws related to violence assessment. In this section we

not only want to cover the obvious issues, but to provide a perspective that

might allow you to go beyond your current perception of these elements and

acquire new appreciation and understanding of how these areas can provide

better case outcomes.

For the professionals reading this guide, we have attempted to provide

references to the literature, when applicable. However, we do not intend this

guide to be a detailed academic work that attempts to reﬂect the breadth of

literature available for assessing potential violent behavior. We want this book

to provide practical, proven ideas and tools for case evaluation and manage-

ment. If you come away with at least one new idea, tool or practical solution

to an assessment or intervention problem, we have accomplished our goal.

We would also hope that reading and using this guide will motivate you

to share your knowledge with others, whenever and however you can. Only

in the sharing of practical, effective methods of violence assessment and

intervention can we continue to increase the safety of the people we are all

responsible for protecting.

We hope that you enjoy our handbook and continue to be interested in

improving the safety of the communities you serve.

Acknowledgments

Someone once said that knowledge, in the end, is really about acknowledg-

ment. I would concur; it is about acknowledging that my skill and ability

aren’t as much about what I know, but what others knew and helped me to

learn … even when they might have been completely unaware of their

instruction. Unfortunately, I know that once I begin listing those to whom

I am eternally grateful, I will overlook many others. Ah, the perils of author-

ship! So here is my partial list of acknowledgements:

My parents, especially my mother, who taught me how to respond to

violence and not just react.

Dave Byers, a wise street cop who taught me how to be “street smart”

and stay alive by “catching more ﬂies with honey than vinegar.”

Robert E. Powis, the “West Coast Director,” who taught about the rewards

in developing a passion for working hard, despite long hours and crazy

conditions.

The primary researchers, theorists and explorers of assessing violence

(Monahan, Dietz, Meloy, etc.) who challenged my insights to better my

awareness; who helped me understand how I was able to grasp others’ behav-

ior and who pushed me to believe there is always more.

My co-author, Jim Cawood, without whose intelligent insights, challeng-

ing beliefs, logical disagreements and patience to focus my “spinning-wheel-

of-knowledge” I would never have ﬁnished this book.

And ﬁnally, my wife Valene, whose unconditional love and support gave

me the comfort and reassurance to keep going … despite my frequent claims

of being too busy.

— Michael H. Corcoran

This book could not have been possible without the efforts of a great

many people. We would both like to acknowledge those people for helping

us reach this point of our careers and helping this book emerge from our

minds and collective experience.

I would like to ﬁrst acknowledge my wife, who has worked with me for

the last 17 years and has continually provided her encouragement, expertise

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