Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters

Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters

Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper

Published in International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 2)

Received: 12 May 2021 Accepted: 4 June 2021 Published: 16 June 2021

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Abstract

The Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters (RAT in brief) provides assessors such as forensic psychologists working for law enforcement and justice departments with a structured assessment method for threatening letters. On the basis of an assessment framework and guidelines, threatening letters will be analysed according to eighteen characteristics. The purpose is to arrive at a risk definition regarding the chances that a person will resort to violence, and to apply risk management to individuals who make threats. With the development of the RAT, efforts have been made regarding the identification of threat level of persons whose identity has not yet been established or who have not been detained, due to the absence of a criminal file. With an assessment form, the presence and relevance of eighteen characteristics divided into: content words (9), emotion words (5), linguistic features (3) and details (1), are examined in disturbing and threatening letters. The content analysis allows assessors to encode a text in binary units of measurement (present or not present) and is based on a combination of empirical knowledge and professional judgement. The objective concerns individuals who are posting (repeated) threatening or disturbing letters on social media and whose authorship must be reviewed to reveal background characteristics for the writer, in the case: 1. they are written anonymously; 2. they are intimidating in nature; 3. they undermine faith in social institutions. Its scope includes public figures such as representatives of the government who frequently are subject to threat or violence. However, the RAT is equally useful for the interpretation of threats aimed at other persons in whose cases the nature and seriousness of the type of threat is also of importance.

Published in	International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences (Volume 6, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14
Page(s)	46-54
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Risk Management, Forensic-linguistic Text Analysis, Treat Assessment, Social Media, Social Unrest

References

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Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper. (2021). Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters. International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences, 6(2), 46-54. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper. Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters. Int. J. Inf. Commun. Sci. 2021, 6(2), 46-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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AMA Style

Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper. Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters. Int J Inf Commun Sci. 2021;6(2):46-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14,
  author = {Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper},
  title = {Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters},
  journal = {International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {46-54},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijics.20210602.14},
  abstract = {The Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters (RAT in brief) provides assessors such as forensic psychologists working for law enforcement and justice departments with a structured assessment method for threatening letters. On the basis of an assessment framework and guidelines, threatening letters will be analysed according to eighteen characteristics. The purpose is to arrive at a risk definition regarding the chances that a person will resort to violence, and to apply risk management to individuals who make threats. With the development of the RAT, efforts have been made regarding the identification of threat level of persons whose identity has not yet been established or who have not been detained, due to the absence of a criminal file. With an assessment form, the presence and relevance of eighteen characteristics divided into: content words (9), emotion words (5), linguistic features (3) and details (1), are examined in disturbing and threatening letters. The content analysis allows assessors to encode a text in binary units of measurement (present or not present) and is based on a combination of empirical knowledge and professional judgement. The objective concerns individuals who are posting (repeated) threatening or disturbing letters on social media and whose authorship must be reviewed to reveal background characteristics for the writer, in the case: 1. they are written anonymously; 2. they are intimidating in nature; 3. they undermine faith in social institutions. Its scope includes public figures such as representatives of the government who frequently are subject to threat or violence. However, the RAT is equally useful for the interpretation of threats aimed at other persons in whose cases the nature and seriousness of the type of threat is also of importance.},
 year = {2021}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters
AU  - Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper
Y1  - 2021/06/16
PY  - 2021
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DO  - 10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14
T2  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
SP  - 46
EP  - 54
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14
AB  - The Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters (RAT in brief) provides assessors such as forensic psychologists working for law enforcement and justice departments with a structured assessment method for threatening letters. On the basis of an assessment framework and guidelines, threatening letters will be analysed according to eighteen characteristics. The purpose is to arrive at a risk definition regarding the chances that a person will resort to violence, and to apply risk management to individuals who make threats. With the development of the RAT, efforts have been made regarding the identification of threat level of persons whose identity has not yet been established or who have not been detained, due to the absence of a criminal file. With an assessment form, the presence and relevance of eighteen characteristics divided into: content words (9), emotion words (5), linguistic features (3) and details (1), are examined in disturbing and threatening letters. The content analysis allows assessors to encode a text in binary units of measurement (present or not present) and is based on a combination of empirical knowledge and professional judgement. The objective concerns individuals who are posting (repeated) threatening or disturbing letters on social media and whose authorship must be reviewed to reveal background characteristics for the writer, in the case: 1. they are written anonymously; 2. they are intimidating in nature; 3. they undermine faith in social institutions. Its scope includes public figures such as representatives of the government who frequently are subject to threat or violence. However, the RAT is equally useful for the interpretation of threats aimed at other persons in whose cases the nature and seriousness of the type of threat is also of importance.
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper

Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, The Hague, The Netherlands

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Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper. (2021). Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters. International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences, 6(2), 46-54. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper. Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters. Int. J. Inf. Commun. Sci. 2021, 6(2), 46-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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AMA Style

Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper. Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters. Int J Inf Commun Sci. 2021;6(2):46-54. doi: 10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14

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@article{10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14,
  author = {Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper},
  title = {Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters},
  journal = {International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences},
  volume = {6},
  number = {2},
  pages = {46-54},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijics.20210602.14},
  abstract = {The Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters (RAT in brief) provides assessors such as forensic psychologists working for law enforcement and justice departments with a structured assessment method for threatening letters. On the basis of an assessment framework and guidelines, threatening letters will be analysed according to eighteen characteristics. The purpose is to arrive at a risk definition regarding the chances that a person will resort to violence, and to apply risk management to individuals who make threats. With the development of the RAT, efforts have been made regarding the identification of threat level of persons whose identity has not yet been established or who have not been detained, due to the absence of a criminal file. With an assessment form, the presence and relevance of eighteen characteristics divided into: content words (9), emotion words (5), linguistic features (3) and details (1), are examined in disturbing and threatening letters. The content analysis allows assessors to encode a text in binary units of measurement (present or not present) and is based on a combination of empirical knowledge and professional judgement. The objective concerns individuals who are posting (repeated) threatening or disturbing letters on social media and whose authorship must be reviewed to reveal background characteristics for the writer, in the case: 1. they are written anonymously; 2. they are intimidating in nature; 3. they undermine faith in social institutions. Its scope includes public figures such as representatives of the government who frequently are subject to threat or violence. However, the RAT is equally useful for the interpretation of threats aimed at other persons in whose cases the nature and seriousness of the type of threat is also of importance.},
 year = {2021}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Introduction Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters: A Structured Approach for Disturbing and Threatening Letters
AU  - Margaret Diekhuis-Kuiper
Y1  - 2021/06/16
PY  - 2021
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14
DO  - 10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14
T2  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JF  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
JO  - International Journal of Information and Communication Sciences
SP  - 46
EP  - 54
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2575-1719
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijics.20210602.14
AB  - The Risk Assessment Method Threatening Letters (RAT in brief) provides assessors such as forensic psychologists working for law enforcement and justice departments with a structured assessment method for threatening letters. On the basis of an assessment framework and guidelines, threatening letters will be analysed according to eighteen characteristics. The purpose is to arrive at a risk definition regarding the chances that a person will resort to violence, and to apply risk management to individuals who make threats. With the development of the RAT, efforts have been made regarding the identification of threat level of persons whose identity has not yet been established or who have not been detained, due to the absence of a criminal file. With an assessment form, the presence and relevance of eighteen characteristics divided into: content words (9), emotion words (5), linguistic features (3) and details (1), are examined in disturbing and threatening letters. The content analysis allows assessors to encode a text in binary units of measurement (present or not present) and is based on a combination of empirical knowledge and professional judgement. The objective concerns individuals who are posting (repeated) threatening or disturbing letters on social media and whose authorship must be reviewed to reveal background characteristics for the writer, in the case: 1. they are written anonymously; 2. they are intimidating in nature; 3. they undermine faith in social institutions. Its scope includes public figures such as representatives of the government who frequently are subject to threat or violence. However, the RAT is equally useful for the interpretation of threats aimed at other persons in whose cases the nature and seriousness of the type of threat is also of importance.
VL  - 6
IS  - 2
ER  -

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