External signs - Behaviors and cues to look for in others are:

• increased agitation or anxiety. Often a person will appear unsettled and display pent-up energy directed into meaningless activities. The person also might display an increase in their rate of breathing and sweating.
• loss of rationality.
• acting out. Such behavior might include verbal aggression or threatening movements either with their body or weapons or potential weapons.
• excessive emotional attention directed your way such as loud talk, argumentative and angry statements.
• during interviews, the individual conspicuously ignores you.
• shows contempt toward you. One way this is done is with a "look through stare". This is a stare where they look through you rather than at you.
• muscular tension or abrupt stopping of all movement. Watch for the shoulders to shift due to increased muscular tension.
• shifting into a "boxers" stance or "martial arts" type stance. Watch for a shift of feet, hips and balance adjustment. Also, watch for clenching of fists.
• target glance. Except for highly skilled fighters, most people will look at a target prior to striking or kicking.
• moves inside your personal space or your boundaries. A person who is targeting you for violence or other criminal acts will often move inside your personal space. For most Americans this is ~18 inches to 4 feet. The size of personal space varies by situation, individual, and culture.

Internal signs - All animals have the "flight or fight" response. Pay attention to your own body's warning signals which can include:

• a "gut feeling" that something is not right.
• a feeling of fear even if there may be no obvious cause. Fear can manifest itself in many ways including an increased rate of breathing, sweaty palms, "butterflies" in the stomach or an "adrenalin" rush. It does no good to feel fear all the time, however, fear is a useful part of us because it can keep us out of danger. Pay attention to fear. Then take action.

In some settings (such as with a client, student, or employee) it is important to evaluate whether or not the individual has:

• a history of violence. If a person responds with violence to life events, it is likely that violent behavior will be seen in this person again. It is generally agreed that a good predictor of future behavior is past behavior. For instance, a recent study by the National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that among people who make authorized purchases of handguns, those with a prior history of crime are ~3.7 more times likely to commit a crime than purchasers with no criminal history (Reference 1).
• a history of drug and alcohol use or abuse. Violent behavior is often correlated to the use or abuse of alcohol or drugs. Not surprisingly, violence is also higher in places where drugs are readily available since this is also where other problems such as street gangs and guns often co-exist (for example see Reference 2).
• a history of mental disorder with violent behavior.
• recently purchased a firearm.
• recently had a major life upset such as a divorce, death in the family, loss of a job, etc.  Under times of stress, a person may be more likely to act out in violent ways.

References Used:

1. Predicting Criminal Behavior Among Authorized Purchases of Handguns. April, 1998. National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2. Student's Reports of School Crime: 1989 and 1995. March 1998. Bureau of Justice Statistics: National Center for Education Statistics.

Books of Interest:

The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect us From Violence by Gavin De Becker. 1997. Little, Brown and Company, New York.

Fear or Freedom: A Woman's Options in Social Survival & Physical Defense by Susan E. Smith. 1986. Mother Courage Press: Racine, WI.

Links to Sites Related to Violence Prevention

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