Swiss cantons use threat management to prevent violence

Swiss cantons use threat management to identify and reduce potential risks of violence before an act occurs, SRF reported. The system operates between criminal prosecution and psychiatric care, helping to fill what forensic psychiatrist Marc Graf of the University of Basel describes as a gap.

People who may pose a danger often attract attention before committing an act of violence. They may display certain behaviours or make threats, a process known as “leaking”. Cantonal threat management aims to identify these warning signs, assess the danger and reduce it where necessary.

Trained contacts at institutions including social services, hospitals and schools report their observations to the cantonal threat management office. The office brings together information from different bodies and assesses the risk. If necessary, it contacts the person directly without a police operation or criminal complaint.

The system distinguishes three categories of people considered to pose a risk: individuals who may be prepared to use violence against others, people classified as terrorist threats under the Federal Act on Police Measures to Combat Terrorism, and accused people already facing a specific criminal investigation.

Risk factors include previous convictions, current weapons use or an affinity for weapons, substance use and mental disorders. Graf said behaviour was even more important, including whether there had already been incidents of stalking.

Threat management operates within the limits of fundamental rights, privacy and data protection. Graf, who also works in the canton of Graubünden, said he rarely encountered data protection as an obstacle to police work. May Beyli, a forensic psychologist at Zurich’s Psychiatric University Hospital, said there were no registers or “shadow files”. Instead, the institutions involved examine individual cases.

The system has only been operational for a few years. At a conference in Sempach in the canton of Lucerne, participants said awareness was improving through training at institutions such as unemployment insurance offices.

“Good threat management can prevent serious acts of violence,” Graf said. However, he added that proving this statistically was difficult.

The case in Aarau has also raised questions about early identification. The alleged perpetrator lived in seclusion in the Jura village of Montsevelier and, according to current information, was previously unknown to the authorities. “It is extremely unusual for a perpetrator in such serious cases to be completely unknown to the police,” Graf said.

He said society as a whole had a responsibility to report problematic behaviour. “If you see someone showing problematic behaviour, you should report it, including for that person’s sake,” he said.