The Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Public Safety and Violence Prevention (PSVP) Program conducts social science research to support law enforcement, mental health, and security practitioners at all government levels. PSVP delivers advanced research products to prevent terrorism, reduce U.S. vulnerability, ensure economic prosperity, and monitor links between illicit actors and terrorism.
PSVP provides research, development, and evaluation solutions in areas such as Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP), Soft Target Security, and Countering Human Trafficking and Transnational Organized Crime. Their work is based on the Homeland Security Act, which mandates DHS efforts to detect, prevent, protect against, and respond to terrorist attacks, and coordinates research across the homeland security enterprise, academia, and international partners.
PSVP research assists policymakers, first responders, law enforcement, mental health workers, and communities by addressing emerging needs and leveraging expertise from both inside and outside the government. PSVP shares scientific data to understand and prevent future attacks, develops new tools for stakeholders, and evaluates what works to make informed, evidence-based decisions.
Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP)
The PSVP TVTP portfolio of projects aims to more quickly and effectively receive, process, and respond to threats of targeted violence and terrorism, thereby facilitating the prevention of such acts and reducing their severity if they occur.
Examples of projects include:
Publishing routine systematic reviews and evidence gap maps on countering violent extremism (CVE) related topics, ranging from risk and protective factors of behavioral radicalization and interventions to prevent terrorism and targeted violence. These products inform policymaking and practice at the local level through development of large-scale interventions.
Develop and implement measures to assess outcomes for the reintegration of foreign terrorist fighters and families to improve intervention success and divert violent risk and successful transition back into the community.
Evaluations of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention programs across all levels of government to improve program implementation and provide resources to local partners to improve delivery of services to target populations.
A pilot intervention of a bystander reporting platform for text-based threat reporting and referral services to support local communities in implementing three-digit call lines to support broader prevention efforts to enhance detection capabilities of practitioners and local programs.
Develop a micro-credential training program that is implemented locally for monitoring the return of foreign fighters and their families from abroad to ensure the latest evidence and standardized measures are provided to practitioners delivering interventions.
- Cognitive and Behavioral Radicalization: A Systematic Review of the Putative Risk and Protective Factors (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 17, July 2021)
- Countering Violent Extremism: Diversion Program—Assessment Tools to Support Secondary and Tertiary Intervention for Violent Extremism Report (April 2020)
- Criminal Justice Interventions for Preventing Radicalisation, Violent Extremism, and Terrorism: An Evidence and Gap Map (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 19, November 2023)
- Designing TVTP Pre- and Posttests (May 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluation: The National Governors Association (November 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluations Final Report (September 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluation: Counter Extremism Project Site Profile (September 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluation: Bay Area Urban Areas Security Initiative Site Profile (September 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluation: Life After Hate Site Profile (September 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluation: McCain Institute at Arizona State University Site Profile (September 2023)
- DHS FY2020 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grantee Evaluation: University of Denver’s Colorado Resilience Collaborative Site Profile (September 2023)
- DHS FY2021 Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grantee Evaluation: Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office (PBSO) Site Profile (2024)
- Is Radicalization a Family Issue? A Systematic Review of Family-Related Risk and Protective Factors, Consequences, and Interventions Against Radicalization (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 18, July 2022)
- Mental Disorder, Psychological Problems and Terrorist Behaviour: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 18, August 2022)
- Multiagency Programs with Police as a Partner for Reducing Radicalization to Violence (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 17, May 2021)
- Online Interventions for reducing Hate Speech and Cyber Hate: A Systematic Review (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 18, May 2022)
- Person-centered Outcome Brief (March 2023)
- Police Programmes that Seek to Increase Community Connectedness for Reducing Violent Extremism Behaviour, Attitudes and Beliefs (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 16, September 2020)
- Practitioner Guide for the Provision of Trauma-informed Care to Women and Children Exiting Violent Extremist Conflict (June 2023)
- Prevention Program Sustainability Associated Determinants: A Literature Review, Version 1.0 (NCITE Digital Commons) (November 2023)
- Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Women and Children Returning from Violent Extremist Contexts: A Rapid Review to Inform Program and Policy Development (Terrorism and Political Violence, March 2023)
- Reintegration Framework Best Practices Report (March 2023)
- Supporting Women and Children Returning from Violent Extremist Contexts: Proposing a 5R Framework to Inform Program and Policy Development (Terrorism and Political Violence, March 2023)
- Targeted Violence: A Review of the Literature on Radicalization and Mobilization (April 2022)
- Trends in the Return and Prosecution of ISIS Foreign Terrorist Fighters in the United States (August 2023)
- TVTP Grantee Evaluation: FY2022 Evaluability Assessment Report (2024)
- TVTP Grantee Evaluation: FY2021 Evaluability Assessment Report (2023)
- TVTP Grantee Evaluation: FY2020 Evaluability Assessment Report (2022)
- Review of Prevention Programming Undertaken by Allies Abroad to Identify Promising Practices Report (March 2023)
- What are the Effects of Different Elements of Media on Radicalization Outcomes? A Systematic Review (Campbell Collaboration, Vol. 18, June 2022)
Soft Target Security
Through a portfolio of activities, PSVP seeks to reduce the vulnerability of soft targets and crowded places to terrorism by detecting, preventing, protecting against, and responding to terrorist attacks.
Examples of projects include:
The development of an online agent-based modeling simulation to assess human behavior across multiple environments that allow local security operators to better understand impacts of an improvised explosive devices on SEAR-level type of events. These simulations will facilitate the evaluation of technology and training to prevent and respond to mass attacks at schools.
Leverage the state of the art in evidence synthesis to identify effective to situational crime prevention and target hardening interventions deployed at soft targets and/or crowded places to prevent acts of terrorism and targeted violence.
The development of a holistic risk assessment engine focused on K-12 schools, in combination with a development of a response solutions toolkit for post-incident recovery. The risk engine will enhance schools ability to identify specific vulnerabilities and implement the most effective interventions.
An Evaluation of the National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Office Master Trainer Program, along with a concurrent evaluation of the Wood County (OH) Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management Program. Findings will inform the work of national program with local impact, resulting in more effective threat identification, evaluation, and respond.
Inform new security measures based on the outcomes of the Agent-Based Model (ABM) in advance of a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) 2 event. ABM simulations can facilitate changes in security posture and response systems to prevent and reduce the impact of terrorist attack on a high value target.
- A Directory of Threat Assessment Models (PDF, 98 pgs., 1 MB) (August 2023)
- Improving the Security of Soft Targets and Crowded Places: A Landscape Assessment (HSOAC) (2024)
Countering Human Trafficking and Other Transnational Organized Crime
PSVP works to conduct evaluation of evidence-based program, develop data to facilitate practitioner efforts and identify effective interventions. This portfolio of work also helps PSVP to monitor connections between illegal drug trafficking and terrorism, coordinate efforts to sever such connections, and otherwise contribute to efforts to interdict illegal drug trafficking.
Examples of projects include:
Evaluation of DHS’s Blue Campaign to enhance program implementation across federal, state, and local law enforcement, educators, and human trafficking prevention practitioners.
Leverage the state of the art in evidence synthesis to identify effective interventions to counter transnational organized crime and interventions against child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Development of the Human Trafficking Recognition Library and Database to enhance professionals access and understanding of instruments to help them better recognize victims of sexual or labor trafficking and determine their service needs.
- A Quasi-Experimental Intervention Trial to Test the Efficacy of a Human Trafficking Awareness Campaign: The Blue Campaign (Journal of Human Trafficking, June 2023)
- Reframing Human Trafficking Awareness Campaigns in the United States: Goals, Audience, and Content (Frontiers in Public Health, August 2023)
Collaboration Networks
PSVP has performers and study sites across the country and the world to use all available resources to solve complex problems. PSVP utilizes several collaboration networks to ensure prevention resources reach local implementers and practitioners, turning research into practice and implementation at the local level.
Networks include:
In collaboration with the Five Country Research and Development, Countering Violent Extremist Network, PSVP has published multiple systematic evidence reviews to advance policy and practice. The Campbell Collaboration Countering Violent Extremism evidence synthesis program is a global research initiative to use rigorous and relevant research to inform policy and practice. Through this program, PSVP has published systematic evidence reviews spanning the PSVP domain areas in human trafficking, targeted violence and terrorism prevention, and soft target security.
The DHS National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education (NCITE), Center of Excellence (COE), led by the University of Nebraska at Omaha, focuses on developing solutions to prevent terrorism. This includes stopping people from being radicalized and committing violence.
PSVP leverages the NCITE Center of Excellence and Digital Commons to share counterterrorism research, technology, and workforce development research with state and local communities tasked with implementing prevention programs.
PSVP makes its products available through the DHS-hosted Prevention Resource Finder (PRF), which provides tools to help people prepare for and prevent acts of targeted violence, like mass shootings, school and campus shootings, workplace violence, and hate crimes; and acts of terrorism that occur in the Homeland. DHS and 17 federal partners use the PRF as a web repository of federal resources to help communities implement resources at the local level, through law enforcement, healthcare practitioners and mental health practitioners, educators, faith-based organizations, and state, local, tribal, and territorial governments.
The International Academic Partnership for Science and Security (IAPSS) is a global knowledge exchange hub and framework that brings together academics, government, and industry to advance the field of targeted violence and terrorism prevention. IAPSS connects 17 research networks across 12 countries to solve complex problems impacting the U.S. while providing opportunities for early career researchers in terrorism prevention. Through IAPSS, PSVP leverages investments made by partner research networks to enhance evidence-based terrorism prevention strategies to benefit the homeland and reduces concurrent resource needs and benefits from other countries understanding of the effectiveness of tools and techniques.