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In Reply to: Family violence? posted by Reposter on November 21, 2005 at 00:56:56:
The following is an excerpt from the conclusion of the article: Interacting with "Cults": A Policing Model
by Adam Szubin, Carl J. Jensen & Rod Gregg
From: FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, Vol. 69, No. 9, 2000 http://www.fbi.gov/publications/leb/2000/sep00leb.pdf
Risk Factors
Certain characteristics provide indications of a new religious movement's instability and potential for violence. While some of these factors may prove more significant than others, many may signal a marked shift in a group's attitude, orientation, or behavior toward violent activity.
. History of violent episodes or clashes with law enforcement
· Leader's past or current condition (e.g., history of violence, drug or alcohol abuse, or mental illness; increasing amounts of paranoia;21 onset of real or perceived serious illness; or recent death)
· Any abrupt reversal of direction, whether the change appears positive or negative (e.g., stops recruiting new members or suddenly changes its message from doom to optimism)
· Recent attempts to obtain the knowledge to carry out a violent act (e.g., recruitment of military or ex-military personnel or those with knowledge of chemical/biological weapons) and intelligence gathering against specific persons, organizations, or locations
· Recent purchases of weapons, poison, or unusual amounts of drugs or drug accessories
· Training in the use of weapons and rehearsals of suicide (e.g., performing ritualistic ceremonies where members jointly consume a single food or drink)
· Instances of violence within the group (e.g., child abuse, sexual abuse, ritualistic violence, violence as a form of social/ religious punishment, or violence as a rite of passage)
· Setting an exact date for the imminent transformation of life on earth
. Moving the date for transformation forward, or closer to the present. (Conversely, officers can view a group that pushes this date back as less of a threat.)
· Phrasing its prophecies or predictions in a detailed manner (e.g., the general claim that "a day will come when evil will be punished" represents less of a risk factor than the more specific claim that "a day will come when America's institutions will bum and its officials will be slain")
· Envisioning an active role for the NRM in the coming transformation (e.g., predictions that "God's chosen people will be taken up," which is phrased passively, versus a prediction that "God's chosen people will shed their mortal bodies and transport themselves to heaven")
. Having the knowledge, means, and ability to carry out a plan that makes sense operationally
Neutral Factors
Because new religious movements exhibit many unfamiliar traits, it becomes difficult to distinguish between risk indicators and characteristics that appear strange but are not necessarily dangerous. Several traits common to these groups exist but are not, in and of themselves, danger signals.
Members offer absolute and unquestioning adherence to their leader and the belief system. In the absence of other risk indicators, this does not indicate a propensity toward violence or other criminal activity. Indeed, total devotion is the hallmark of new religious movements. The group physically segregates itself from others. This also is a common characteristic of many new religious movements and says little about a group's attitude toward violence or suicide.25
Members adopt unfamiliar customs or rituals, which may involve diet, dress, language, or family and social organization.
Protective Factors
The presence of some characteristics may indicate that a new religious movement is comparatively stable or is becoming more stable and, hence, less of a danger. Members take practical steps to plan for the future (e.g., send their children to school, work at permanent jobs, or make medium to long-term investments in commodities or real estate).
The group adopts bureaucratic processes that routinize its affairs (e.g., transcribes its leader's teachings to writing for dissemination or appoints a committee to handle such aspects as outreach, finances, or general management). When the leader dies, a more conventional style of governance, involving voting or a committee structure, replaces autocratic decision making. Often, this causes outsiders to change their opinion of the group and view it as a religious denomination or mainstream religious organization rather than a new religious movement.
