In this episode of Forensic Briefs, Dr. Reid Meloy returns to examine threat assessment and management through the development and application of the TRAP-18. He discusses proximal warning behaviors, distal risk factors, time-sequencing of violent pathways, and emerging research using artificial intelligence in forensic risk assessment. The conversation also analyzes the Capital Gazette mass murder, highlighting failures in threat management and the critical warning sign of attackers “going dark” before violence.
Dr. J. Reid Meloy is a board-certified forensic psychologist (ABPP) with a national and international consulting practice in criminal, civil, and counterterrorism cases. A past president of the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, he is the developer of the TRAP-18 and co-creator of the WAVR-21 threat assessment instruments. Dr. Meloy has authored more than 270 scholarly publications and 14 books, and has served as a consultant to the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit and major public agencies worldwide.
