Attorney General William Barr on Wednesday announced a new Justice Department plan to prevent mass shootings by honing the ability of the authorities to “identify, assess and engage potential [perpetrators] before they strike,” The Hill reported.
Declaring the initiative to federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials in a memo, Barr said that abruptness of such attacks from people who exhibit “ambiguous indications of intent” force officials to develop new means of stopping such incidents.
Barr said a Joint Terrorist Task Force will include the use of clinical psychologists, threat assessment professionals, intervention teams and community groups. Such methods have been developed after subjects of recent threat investigations showed symptoms of mental illness or substance abuse issues, with Barr stating that those cases often result in detention and such measures as court-ordered mental health treatment, substance abuse counseling and electronic monitoring.
The memo’s release comes after a number of deadly mass shootings in the U.S. this year.
Barr also announced a December summit in Washington to hear new ideas of how to deal with the problem, USA Today reported.
He added that the gathering of law enforcement at FBI headquarters would serve as a training conference on the subject.
“I have no greater priority than the safety and well-being of our communities, and particularly our children, who are the most vulnerable among us to the threat of mass violence,” Barr said in the memo, according to The Hill. “I am confident that you will continue to meet the challenge of protecting the public with your proven tenacity, creativity and commitment to justice.”
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