Content Analysis for Proactive Protective Intelligence

摘要

The ability to assess the severity of abnormal communications to protectees has never been more topical. Since Mr. Obama took office, the rate of threats against the president has risen to an average of over 30 a day, a 400 per cent increase as compared to the previous administration (1). Allocation of significant law enforcement resources to the pursuit of every threat is unrealistic and would not result in an efficient use of resources. This paper outlines a plan for developing and validating a PPI approach that helps prioritize threats and prevent targeted violence to USSS protectees through the analysis of abnormal communications to USSS protectees. Only a handful of studies on abnormal communications and approaches to prominent people have been carried out to-date and no compatible terminologies have emerged (2). Yet, these studies have demonstrated that the occurrence of problematic approaches can be meaningfully related to quantifiable behavioral factors observed in abnormal communications and therefore offer a serviceable basis on which to develop a PPI approach.