An Empirical Assessment of the Prioritization and Intervention for Violent Extremists Tool (PIVET)

This article outlines the development and application of the Prioritization and Intervention for Violent Extremists Tool (PIVET) to a large-N sample of violent extremist offenders in the United States. PIVET was constructed from the already well-validated Kent Internet Risk Assessment Tool (KIRAT) developed for prioritizing contact sexual offenders against children and relies on similar underlying criminological theories such as social learning and previous criminality. This study tested the effectiveness of PIVET using the "Profiles of Individuals Radicalized in the United States (PIRUS)" database. A receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis with allocated risk level as the test variable was significant at p < .001, with an area under the curve (AUC) value of .855 in the discrimination of violent versus nonviolent offenders. This article reinforces the utility of PIVET as a tool to prioritize (and thus intervene) in cases where violent thought turns into actual violent behavior. Public Significance Statement Acts of terrorism cause significant human and societal harm. They not only cause immense physical damage to people and places but also psychological and fiscal damage that endures. Facilitating efforts of law enforcement to prevent acts of terrorism thus has significant public health significance.