The University of Texas at Houston Police Department established a Threat Management Unit under the leadership of Chief William H. Adcox. The Unit is led by Inspector Vicki King and advised by Dr. Gregory H. Botz who provides insight into applications in the healthcare industry. The unit has been credited with a 300% increase in early intervention reporting between 2012 and 2014. Reports indicate that hospital employees feel more comfortable reporting concerning behavior so officers can get these individuals help before their behavior escalates to criminal activity or harm to themselves or others. The unit was involved in 11 suicide interventions in a four-month period where the people investigated were held under an Emergency Detention Order and given psychiatric care. During that same four-month period, the Threat Management Unit intervened in 18 cases in which the subject was considered to be at high risk for committing a violent act. Researchers at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center are pioneering threat safety science and principles of de-escalation of threat and risk in order to develop tactical solutions in Threat Safety Science in healthcare.
