Our presenters this week are Greg Wildman and Joe Testani from ROCTAC (Rochester Threat Advisory committee), which is a collaborative effort between local schools, domestic violence groups, social workers, mental health experts and law enforcement. They open channels to communication for assessing potential threats. The coalition consist of Monroe County Sheriff's office, in collaboration with Monroe County, Monroe County District Attorney’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service, New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services, New York State Police, Fairport Police Department, Roberts Wesleyan College, University of Rochester, Fairport Central School District, Villa of Hope, Willow Domestic Violence Center, Veterans Outreach Center, and a host of law enforcement agencies, school districts, colleges and universities, human resources and mental health professionals, houses of worship, and community outreach partners. The group meets regularly to share potential threats in the community and the group acts as an advisory committee to help the separate entities involved. The goal is to stop acts of violence before they occur by addressing the root causes of the subject grievance. There is a known behavioral pathway to intended violence (Grievance-Ideation-Research/Planning-Preparation-Breach-Attack). The idea is to identify individuals that are expressing behavior in the early stages so they can be re-directed called "off-ramped". It is a balancing act between public safety and health/wellness need of persons at risk as well as those affected by the person at risk. Several examples of how this has worked on actual cases was reviewed including the arrests made in an alleged bomb plot discovered within the Greece High School. Great presentation and thankful this is happening at the local level! |
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