Seaward, Amber;
Marchment, Zoe;
Wilson, Simon;
Elfituri, Sammi;
Farnham, Frank;
Plumb, Trevor;
Rose, Keith;
... Gill, Paul; + view all
(2025)
Unmet needs: analysing the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre’s fulfilment of the public health approach, and its value for violence prevention.
Psychology, Crime & Law
pp. 1-24.
10.1080/1068316x.2025.2581795.
(In press).
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Abstract
The Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (FTAC) operates with a public health approach, through catalysing mental health treatment for those with mental health needs unidentified, untreated, or sub-optimally managed by mainstream services. While much literature examines mental illness’s role in fixated threats, unmet mental health needs garner less attention. This paper evaluates the value and fulfilment of safeguarding within FTAC, through analysing whether (1) FTAC identifies and successfully refers into treatment those with unmet needs, and (2) unmet needs are related to concerning behaviours. Two measures of unmet needs are analysed: disengagement from mental health services, and unidentified mental illness. Data comprise FTAC referrals from 2012 to 2016, and methods include chi-squared tests and logistic regressions. Results indicate FTAC does safeguard individuals referred. Over a quarter of referrals (where previous mental healthcare information is available) have unmet needs, predominantly psychotic illnesses. These are directed to (mental) health-based interventions, reducing concern levels. Safeguarding is useful for violence prevention, as unmet needs isolate a subgroup exhibiting disproportionately concerning behaviours (approach, problematic approach, breaching security barriers). Findings imply unmet mental health needs should be given more attention in research as a variable, and in threat assessment as a risk indicator for assessments of levels of concern.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Unmet needs: analysing the Fixated Threat Assessment Centre’s fulfilment of the public health approach, and its value for violence prevention |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1080/1068316x.2025.2581795 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1080/1068316x.2025.2581795 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
| Keywords: | Threat assessment, fixated threats, mental illness and violence risk, public figures, public health approach to violence prevention |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Security and Crime Science |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10216645 |
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