FBI Issues New Violence Prevention Guidance for Hospitals as Threats Against Health Care Workers Rise

Federal authorities have released new national guidance aimed at helping hospitals and health care systems detect early warning signs of violence and intervene before threats escalate into attacks. The initiative reflects growing concern among law enforcement and health security professionals over the rising number of assaults, threats, and targeted incidents occurring inside medical facilities across the United States.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced the release of two new violence prevention resources designed specifically for hospitals, clinics, and health care systems, providing structured methods for identifying behavioral warning signs and coordinating responses when potential threats emerge.

The materials were developed through a collaboration between the FBI’s Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) and the American Hospital Association, bringing together specialists from multiple disciplines to address violence risks unique to medical environments.

According to the FBI, seventeen subject-matter experts contributed to the development of the guidance, including mental health professionals, researchers, physicians, hospital administrators, and law enforcement specialists. The collaboration represents the first time federal behavioral threat experts have partnered directly with a national hospital organization to produce a comprehensive framework for preventing targeted violence in health care settings.

Hospitals have increasingly become high-risk environments for workplace violence. Health care workers routinely interact with patients experiencing trauma, psychological distress, substance abuse crises, or severe emotional instability. In some cases those conditions escalate into physical confrontations, threats against staff, or violent incidents involving weapons.

National safety assessments have consistently shown that health care workers experience significantly higher rates of workplace violence than most other professions, including law enforcement and public service occupations. Emergency departments, psychiatric units, and high-stress care environments are particularly vulnerable due to the unpredictable nature of patient interactions.

The FBI’s newly released resources focus on a strategy known as Behavioral Threat Assessment and Management (BTAM). This approach relies on structured evaluation of concerning behaviors rather than focusing solely on criminal actions that have already occurred.

Under the BTAM model, trained teams monitor warning indicators such as escalating hostility, fixation on grievances, threatening language, stalking behavior, or attempts to obtain weapons. These indicators are evaluated through a multidisciplinary process designed to determine whether an individual poses a credible threat.

The guidance recommends that hospitals establish multidisciplinary BTAM teams composed of medical administrators, security personnel, behavioral health specialists, human resources professionals, and law enforcement liaisons. These teams are tasked with reviewing concerning incidents, coordinating responses, and developing intervention strategies before violence occurs.

The framework emphasizes early intervention. In many cases, individuals who commit acts of targeted violence display patterns of behavior or communications that signal escalating intent. By identifying these signals early, hospitals can intervene through counseling, security monitoring, administrative action, or coordination with law enforcement agencies.

The FBI guidance also stresses the importance of training frontline medical staff to recognize behavioral warning signs, since nurses, physicians, and support personnel are often the first to observe threatening behavior.

Training modules included in the resource materials provide instruction on identifying behavioral indicators, reporting concerns through internal channels, and maintaining documentation that allows threat assessment teams to analyze patterns over time.

Another component of the guidance focuses on building communication channels between hospitals and local law enforcement agencies, including direct coordination with FBI field offices when incidents involve credible threats of mass violence or terrorism.

Investigators note that targeted violence incidents often develop gradually through stages that include grievance formation, fixation on perceived injustices, planning behaviors, and eventual preparation for an attack. Behavioral threat assessment programs are designed to disrupt that progression before an individual reaches the final stages of violence.

The newly released materials include two primary guidance documents. The first is a leadership guide that outlines how hospital administrators can implement threat assessment teams and develop internal policies governing threat evaluation procedures.

The second document serves as a broader reference compendium containing research findings, case studies, operational templates, and training frameworks that hospitals can use when establishing violence prevention programs.

Together, the materials provide step-by-step models for developing threat assessment teams, identifying risk indicators, coordinating responses, and maintaining long-term safety strategies within complex health care systems.

Federal authorities emphasized that effective prevention requires collaboration across multiple sectors, including hospital leadership, medical staff, security personnel, and law enforcement agencies.

The FBI released the guidance alongside a public service announcement promoting awareness and prevention strategies related to targeted violence. The announcement encourages organizations to take proactive measures rather than waiting until threats escalate into physical incidents.

Health security analysts view the release of these resources as part of a broader effort to strengthen institutional readiness against targeted violence across critical public sectors. Schools, workplaces, government facilities, and health care systems increasingly rely on behavioral threat assessment models to identify warning signs before attacks occur.

Hospitals present unique challenges in this area because they remain open public spaces while simultaneously housing vulnerable patients, medical staff, and critical care infrastructure.

By implementing structured threat assessment teams and training personnel to recognize behavioral warning indicators, federal officials hope health care organizations can reduce the risk of violent incidents while maintaining safe environments for patients and staff.

The FBI is encouraging hospitals and health care systems nationwide to incorporate these principles into their safety planning frameworks and maintain active coordination with law enforcement partners responsible for responding to emerging threats.

The newly released violence prevention resources are available to hospitals, health systems, and medical administrators seeking to strengthen their security and behavioral threat assessment programs.

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