skip to main content
Article Podcast Report Summary Quick Look Quick Look Video Newsfeed triangle plus sign dropdown arrow Case Study All Search Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Bluesky Threads Instagram Right Arrow Press Release External Report Open Quote Storymap Newsletter Website
< Back to Center for Justice Research and Innovation

Targeted Violence

Evidence-Based Approaches to Addressing Targeted Violence 

Targeted violence is on the rise in the United States. Domestic terrorism, hate crimes, mass shootings, and school shootings were once considered relatively rare. But such acts now occur almost daily and threaten the safety and security of communities across America. CNA helps our sponsors and the public to better understand the nature and scope of this threat through analysis and program evaluation projects conducted in communities across the country. Central to these efforts is the DVERT Center, a national center of excellence on this topic embedded within CNA, which is equipping practitioners with the knowledge and tools to combat targeted violence.

Recent CNA work on these topics includes:

DVERT Publications

Bystander Intervention Training Across Contexts
Bystander Intervention Literature Review: Methodology
Fame-Seeking, Fixation, and Leakage
BTAM: Behavioral Threat Assessment Outcomes in School Settings
The DVERT Center
Substance Abuse and Violent Extremism
Choosing Credible Messengers for Preventing Violent Extremism
BTAM: Lessons Learned from Incidents of Violence
Trends and Recommendations: Workplace Insider Homicides, 2000–2025
Empowering Bystanders to Report Concerns About Violent Extremism
Trends and Recommendations: Homicides in Medical Settings
Pathways to Change: Learning from the Community Integration Support Program
What Practitioners Need to Know: Post-Exit Distress in Former Extremists
Trends and Recommendations: Homicides at Colleges and Universities
What Works? The Perspectives of US Extremists on Reintegration Programs
Trends and Recommendations: Homicides in K–12 Schools
Disguised Compliance Risks in Countering Violent Extremism Programming
Explainer: Violent Actors' Exploitation and Recruitment of Young People with Mental Health Concerns
Weapon Acquisition and the Pathway to Violence
From Screen to Scene: The Gamification of Mass Violence
Explainer: True Crime Community
Explainer: Gore Content and Violent Extremism
764 and The Com: Misconceptions and Guidance
Trends and Recommendations: House of Worship Targeted Homicides
Trends and Recommendations: Mass Public Shootings
Domestic Terrorism and Histories of Violence Perpetration
Affiliation Instead of Loneness: Rethinking the “Lone Wolf” Typology

Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM)

This series of short, practitioner-focused reports discusses analytical findings from CNA’s evaluation of a county’s capacity-building efforts to address targeted violence, focusing on implications for local policymakers.

Domestic Terrorism Offender-Level Database (DTOLD)

DTOLD, developed by CNA with the support of the National Institute of Justice, is the first publicly available offender-level database that prioritizes psychosocial, trauma-related, and life history variables. These short reports discuss initial analytical findings from the database that are relevant for clinicians, probation officers, and other relevant stakeholders.

Learning from the Past

These reports examine the history of US counterterrorism efforts to identify lessons learned and strategies for responding to domestic terrorism today.