VIOLENCE RISK &
THREAT ASSESSMENT
Dr. Brian Van Brunt is an internationally recognized expert in behavioral intervention, threat assessment and mental illness and the former President and lead content expert for the National Association for Behavioral Intervention and Threat Assessment (NABITA). Over the decades, he has learned the importance of offering uniquely tailored trainings to better support the needs of each community they trained and consulted with, both virtually and on the road.
At DPrep Safety, we assembled a team of master trainers who provide high-quality, effective virtual and in-person trainings at a reasonable price point. They bring decades of subject matter expertise in diversity, equity and inclusion, legal reviews, counseling, law enforcement, conduct/discipline, and human resources.
Our first question to a new community partner is always, “Help us understand your unique needs and what resources we can bring to support, train and advise your community.” At DPrep Safety, we prioritize our quality expert systems, training, and consulting reviews over profit margins. Our services are built to bring our community partners lasting change, rather than a one-and-done engagement.
For more information or to schedule any of these options, please contact bethany@dprep.com.
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Understand the threat assessment process from the first concern to the final, comprehensive report
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Gather information accurately and assess the risk based on interaction of risk and protective factors
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Learn how to write an accurate, timely and meaningful report for decision makers
This live, online certification course addresses violence risk and threat assessment in workplaces, schools, colleges, and universities. This course will cover all aspects of threat assessment, including intake and interviewing skills, assessing written threats, and developing risk mitigation plans.
We review foundational concepts in violence risk and threat assessment, provide practical guidance on interviewing skills for gathering information from the person being assessed, and outline how to write a report that offers useful, accessible guidance to the referral source.
The class will use case studies to teach core concepts and allow time for interactive discussion and reflection. These case studies will address universal threat assessment concepts and draw on workplace and college settings. Supplemental resources, including research articles, checklists, informational one-sheets, discussion questions, and training exercises, will be provided.
This training includes one-year access to our online triage and threat assessment tools. These research-based expert systems reduce bias, ensure consistency, and address subjectivity in information gathering and decision-making.
The Pathways Triage Tool assesses student behavior to determine the risk level to both the student and the community. When indicated, Pathways will recommend further assessment for suicide or violence risk.
The DarkFox Violence Risk Assessment Tool is an online expert system that collects and organizes data related to a potential violence risk. The information shared is used to develop a unique threat management plan, supported by research from the fields of psychology, criminology, threat assessment, and law enforcement.
Private: Violence Risk and Threat Assessment training, tailored to your team's training needs. Starting at $7000 for virtual, $8500 for in person. New team members who join during the two-year certification period may attend an online session at half price to get certified.
Hosted: Share costs by inviting area teams to train on your campus.
Online: We provide Violence Risk and Threat Assessment training live online several times each year.
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The class run from 11:30–5:00 ET, with a one-hour break from 2:00–3:00
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The cost is $449/person or $399/person for groups of 5 or more
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Class recording will be available for those who are unable to attend a session due to scheduling conflicts.
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Group rates are available for most courses.
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Find upcoming trainings on our Certification page.
Certification can be renewed every two years by attending our VRA Refresher (details coming soon).
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Maintain impartiality and consistency while minimizing avoidable harm
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Improve documentation and report readiness
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Navigate complexity across civil rights, conduct, employment, and safety systems
Every consequential campus decision begins with a conversation. A counselor assesses whether suicidal thoughts have become a plan. A conduct investigator weighs competing accounts. A threat team attempts to distinguish frustration from movement toward violence. A medical professional hears that an examination felt “strange” or “uncomfortable.” What happens next depends on the interviewer’s ability to ask clear, neutral, trauma-informed, and strategically sequenced questions.
Poor interviews do not stay inside the room. They become incomplete risk assessments, unsupported credibility findings, missed behavioral patterns, OCR findings, reversed disciplinary decisions, litigation, and public post-incident reports. This practical course prepares Title IX, VI, and VII professionals, counselors, BIT/CARE teams, law enforcement officers, medical providers, and case managers to gather better information, recognize what has not yet been asked, document findings accurately, and make decisions that are fairer, safer, and more defensible.
Move beyond policy talk and into real-world practice. This immersive interviewing certification course is designed for professionals conducting interviews in counseling, conduct, threat assessment, Title IX/VI/VII matters, healthcare, law enforcement and legal matters. Designed as a certification compliance course, this training will strengthen participants fact-gathering goals, learn to better questions to obtain better information, and respond with greater clarity, confidence, and care. This training experience will review the basics of rapport building, addressing defensiveness, expanding the variety and method of questions in a trauma-informed, efficient, timely and equitable matter.
Using video demonstration, lecture and discussion, participants will improve their skills gathering relevant information without creating unnecessary confusion, delay, or distress. Through is a more confident, capable interviewer who is better prepared to support a fair process, build trust, and respond effectively across complex conduct, counseling, civil rights, case management and threat assessment matters.
The training emphasizes:
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timely and effective fact gathering
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minimizing avoidable harm during interviews
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maintaining impartiality and consistency
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improving documentation and report readiness
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strengthening confidence through practice and feedback
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navigating complexity across civil rights, conduct, employment, and safety systems
Participants will learn the importance of
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Starting Strong: Interview Preparation That Matters: Great interviews begin before the first question is asked. Participants learn how to prepare with intention, define the scope of concern, and enter each conversation with a clear, organized plan.
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Building Trust Without Losing Structure: Effective interviewers know how to create a calm, respectful environment while still maintaining role clarity and process integrity. This area focuses on balancing rapport, professionalism, and clear expectations.
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Asking Better Questions, Get Better Information: The quality of the interview depends on the quality of the questions. Participants practice framing questions that draw out relevant facts without leading, rushing, or unintentionally shaping the response.
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Gathering Facts While Minimizing Harm: Strong interviews do more than collect information. They reduce unnecessary stress, repetition, and confusion for the person involved. This area emphasizes language, pacing, and technique that support a more humane and effective process.
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Staying Focused on What Matters Most: Interviews can easily drift. Participants build skill in identifying relevant details, clarifying timelines, and keeping the conversation centered on the facts needed to support fair and informed next steps.
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Documentation with Clarity and Precision: Good interviewing and good documentation go hand in hand. This area helps participants strengthen note-taking, distinguish facts from interpretation, and create records that are clear, useful, and defensible.
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Adapting in Real Time: No two interviews unfold the same way. Participants learn to respond to emotion, hesitation, defensiveness, inconsistency, or silence with flexibility and confidence while staying grounded in the process's goals.
Private: BIT/CARE Framework, tailored to your team's training needs, ideally following a team needs assessment. Starting at $7500 for virtual, $9000 for in person. New team members who join during the two-year certification period may attend an online session at half price to get certified.
Hosted: Share costs by inviting area teams to train on your campus.
Online: We provide BIT/CARE Framework training live online several times each year.
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The class run from 11:30–5:00 ET, with a one-hour break from 2:00–3:00
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The cost is $449/person or $399/person for groups of 5 or more
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Class recording will be available for those who are unable to attend a session due to scheduling conflicts.
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Group rates are available for most courses.
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Find upcoming trainings on our Certification page.
Certification can be renewed every two years by attending our Framework Refresher (details coming soon).
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Move from theory to practice through immersive, case-based learning
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Build confidence through hands-on interviews, teamwork, and guided feedback
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Apply structured tools to improve consistency and defensible decision-making
This immersive two-day certification course is designed to move threat assessment professionals from theory to practice. Led by Dr. Brian Van Brunt and the DPrep Safety team, participants will receive direct, practical guidance on the real-world challenges that threat assessment teams face every day, including interviewing subjects, analyzing social media, and creating accurate, defensible reports.
Attend live in New Orleans or attend virtually. Virtual participants will be formed into teams. Each virtual team will be assigned a facilitator who will guide them through case development, answer questions, and ensure access to resources.
Live Actor Interviews: Each participant will interview a professional actor portraying the subject in a complex threat case. You will receive detailed feedback and advice for strengthening your interviewing skills.
Applied Teamwork: Collaborate with your cohort to analyze the threat, assess risk, and create a tailored mitigation plan using strategies relevant to your own institution or workplace.
Case-Based Learning: You’ll review case details, form a team, gather intelligence, and conduct structured interviews.
Rotating Experiences: Across two days, participants rotate through different roles and scenarios, developing agility in handling personalities, defensiveness, and complex case dynamics.
Learn more at www.btaminstitute.com
Next Session Coming Soon
These two tracks will run concurrently with unique cases. While the course is built on the idea of in-person training, we recognize the need for online opportunities as well. Choose the format that fits your team.
In Person
$969
per person
Virtual
$799
per person
Virtual Team
$2499
up to 10 team members
We provide dinner on the first night for in-person attendees based on local New Orleans restaurants and cuisine. For example, one of our local instructors cooked a crab and shrimp boil for participants during our first session, and coffee and beignets were plentiful.
We believe in this training approach, even though it is a bit more costly than a simple tabletop exercise or walking people through a case study. The individual interview experiences and opportunities to watch others approach their interviews in various ways offer a level of feedback you just don’t get from other conferences and trainings.
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Review the collaborative approach to violence risk and threat assessment and mitigation
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Identify warning behaviors, leakage, and concerning patterns that indicate elevated risk
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Apply these concepts in your work in law enforcement, K-12 schools, and university settings
Overview
Threat Assessment and Management for Schools (TAMS) is designed to provide members of law enforcement (including SROs and first responders), school administrators, counselors, teachers, and mental health professionals with a practical approach to recognizing and preventing violence on school campuses. Participants will learn the core components of a collaborative team approach, core concepts related to violence risk and threat assessment, and how to develop a violence risk mitigation plan tied to this multidisciplinary team assessment.
Scope
The TAMS course is a research-based approach to addressing potential violence through a collaborative team approach. Practical guidance and opportunities for interactive discussions on threat terminology, risk assessment, mitigation planning, and the real-world application of concepts are central to each module. Emphasis will be on “hands-on/learn by doing” case examples where participants can apply theoretical and research concepts into their everyday work in law enforcement, K-12 schools, and university settings. Concepts and processes will be shared in a trauma-informed manner, with an emphasis on inclusive examples, diverse perspectives, and culturally relevant violence risk assessment and mitigation techniques.
This course is built with a visually engaging format to teach concepts with case examples from everyday settings. The course combines lectures, interactive exercises, and video demonstrations with short, digestible resource sheets to accommodate a variety of learning styles. Additional supplemental materials and assessment tools will be provided through a course-specific website, allowing participants to continue their learning well beyond their in-person day of instruction and interaction with local agencies, departments, and providers.
Target Audience
The course is designed to bring together local groups, such as law enforcement and designated staff from public and/or private schools, colleges, and universities, to provide a unified learning opportunity with a common language and approach to identifying, assessing, and mitigating threats of violence in the local community. The mixed audience will provide diverse perspectives, discussion, and problem-solving through various case examples and exercises.
Module One: BIT/CARE Threat Foundation Concepts
This initial module will address the changing role of law enforcement in violence identification, assessment and mitigation through a collaborative, multi-disciplinary, team-based approach. With a focus on early identification of risk and protective factors, this module offers an overview of concepts, terminology and philosophy that will be addressed throughout the course. Concepts related to mental illness and threat assessment, triage vs. violence risk and threat assessment processes, substantive vs. transient threat, and the movement of individuals through the pathway of violence will all be discussed.
Module Two: Team Definition
Team definition outlines the team’s purpose and scope of activities. It includes:
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Team mission
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Scope
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Name
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Team Process
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Membership
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Multiple Teams
Module Three: Team Operation
Team operation defines how the team is organized to meet team goals. It includes:
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Frequency of Meetings
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Leadership
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Budget
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Policy & Procedure
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Cultural Awareness
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Disability Awareness
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Website
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Team Presentation
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Other Marketing
Module Four Case Processing
Case processing describes how the team manages a case through the initial report, contextual information
gathering, risk assessment, interventions, and documentation. It includes:
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Receiving Concerns
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Concern Forms
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Information Standards
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Information Sharing
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Case Discussion
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Level of Risk
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Violence Risk Assessments
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Psychological Assessments
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Intervention
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Bias Mitigation
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Case Management
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Record Keeping
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Database Utilization
Module Five: Continuous Improvement
Continuous improvement supports the ongoing functioning of the team and ensures the membership is
supervised and trained and that processes are reviewed and maintained.. It includes:
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Supervision & Guidance
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Training & Development
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Case Evaluation
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End-of-Term Reports
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After-Action Reports
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Needs Assessment
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Stress Management
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Build targeted expertise in complex and high-risk threat assessment scenarios
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Strengthen consistency and precision across specialized areas of practice
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Apply advanced tools and strategies to improve decision-making and outcomes
These specialized workshops are designed to deepen your team’s expertise in key areas of threat assessment. Each session focuses on a specific challenge, providing practical strategies, applied tools, and clear guidance that can be implemented immediately. Whether addressing complex cases, emerging risks, or areas where teams commonly experience drift, these workshops help strengthen precision, consistency, and confidence in your processes.
How It Works
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Choose 1, 2, or 3 targeted sessions
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Each session is 90 minutes, practical and case-informed
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Designed for full team participation
What You Receive
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Recording access for one full year
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Downloadable handouts and implementation tools
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Optional attendance reporting for compliance/tracking
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Sessions tailored with your team’s real-world scenarios (optional)
Investment
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1 Session: $1,750
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2 Sessions: $3,300
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3 Sessions: $4,800
Addressing Disruptive and Dangerous Behavior
This workshop offers research-based, practical advice for faculty and staff to better manage crisis scenarios that develop related to irritability, financial stress, mental illness emergencies, relationship difficulties, and other stressors. Instruction draws from the fields of psychology and law enforcement, teaching techniques including motivational interviewing, rapport building, and content-process focus.
Advanced Intake and Interviewing Skills
Gathering information from another party is an important skill set that crosses over a number of fields, including threat assessment, Title IX, case management, conduct/discipline, and law enforcement/campus safety. This course is meant as an advanced track, moving the conversation beyond the interviewing and intake skills outlined in our BIT/CARE trainings. Our team teaches from decades of experience with an intersectional focus on counseling, law enforcement, campus safety, student conduct, and legal techniques.
Assessing Social Media, Email, and Student Writing
Drawing on his book, An Educator's Guide to Assessing Threats in Student Writing, Dr. Brian Van Brunt will teach participants what to look for when reviewing written and video content that may appear on social media, in email, or in creative writing assignments.
Crisis De-Escalation
Drawing on Dr. Brian Van Brunt’s work in his books A Faculty Guide to Disruptive and Dangerous Behavior and A Staff Guide to Addressing Disruptive and Dangerous Behavior on Campus, this training will explore the difference between disruptive and dangerous behavior in and outside the classroom. The training will cover how to de-escalate a crisis when it occurs and the importance of sharing this information forward with your BIT/CARE team.
Mitigating Bias in Information Gathering, Decision Making and Interventions
We all have biases. Bias shapes how we see the world and how we choose to interact with others. The goal of this workshop is to better understand and mitigate bias in our processes, not to remove it. This training provides an opportunity to explore how each of us sees the world and widens the aperture of awareness when working with others through assessment, crisis de-escalation, and interventions. This workshop emphasizes the importance of improving the accuracy and validity of our processes across the three critical areas of gathering information, making decisions, and developing interventions.
Workplace Violence Prevention Plans
Required by California’s SB553 and recommended for all workplaces, these plans identify and mitigate potential risk factors for violence and include procedures for responding to violence and potential violence. DPrep Safety offers templates and can work with you to tailor them to your site’s needs. We also offer comprehensive site walkthroughs and can train your staff on how to prepare for and respond to potential violence.
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Expert guidance on difficult cases
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Violence risk and threat assessments conducted by our expert team
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Risk mitigation strategies and intervention suggestions
Internationally recognized threat assessment expert, Dr. Brian Van Brunt, and our team of student affairs and law enforcement professionals can assist in all aspects of violence risk and threat assessment.
Services include:
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Materials review, including conduct history, BIT involvement, case management notes, police reports, and previous assessment reports
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Virtual assessment meeting with the student
- A written report with a violence risk/threat assessment along with recommendations for next steps
Cost: $250/hour. Consultation hours can also be purchased in advance in packages of 12 for $2500.