NEW LONDON, Conn. — \Representatives from law enforcement agencies across the state attended a three-day symposium conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. The topic of the symposium was how local and state police could work with the FBI in identifying “behavioral red flags” to prevent mass violence.
“This training includes case studies throughout the US and Connecticut presentations from mental health professionals, and our own FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit criminal profiler is based in Quantico, and resources targeting serial killers, child sex offenders and others wishing to engage in violence within our communities,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Fuller. "The overall purpose of this training is to get ahead of the Targeted violence and threats through a multidisciplinary approach."
To prevent mass violence in our communities’ experts say addressing mental health is good place to start by fostering relationships with community partners. “This training is another example of that evolution by partnering with federal local law enforcement agencies in Connecticut, clinicians, school officials and local businesses. Our goal is to prevent any incident of targeted violence in Connecticut long before it takes place and get these individuals the help they need,” said Lt. Anthony Guiliano, with Connecticut State Police
The training comes at a time when the number of mental health crises are on the rise. Dana Begin with the CT Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services said, “In the last year crisis calls have tripled in the state statewide. In the last two years crisis evaluations have increased by 20%.”
Begin says it possible to still keep the community safe while addressing mental health.
“If we can demonstrate compassion when an individual or family is in distress, we can then engage and refer to ongoing supports strengthen resilience and divert from hospitals and the criminal justice system,” said Begin.
Identifying those red flags are not just up to police and local leaders but to everyone. “The public should know a number of individuals who wish to engage in targeted violence, or mass shootings often voiced their grievance and or partial plans to friends, family, and coworkers. We ask the public to partner with us to report these instances to law enforcement. So, we can get ahead of the threat,” said Fuller.
For local officers who went through the training say this will help them in current investigations and they’re eager to get back to work. “I didn't realize how in depth they could really go and assist us with a lot of cases that were actually working,” said Officer Bart Wichowskai with the New Britain Police Department “If I didn't have to work tomorrow, I would be back on Monday and going in working on them.”
Federal officials urged the public who suspect a threat to report it to police by quoting the crime prevention slogan “If you see something, say something.”
Jake Garcia is a multimedia journalist for FOX61 News. He can be reached at jgarcia@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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