The United States Secret Service has a multifaceted mission. Many people are aware of the Secret Service’s protection mission. Images of Secret Service agents protecting an important figure are likely conjured up when talking about this organization. The Secret Service has other missions, such as its mission to curb counterfeiting, but its protection mission often takes center stage.

A part of the Secret Service’s protection mission is threat assessment and analysis. History has shown that public officials have been at risk for harm by others for myriad reasons. For instance, a public official can be threatened because of military or political reasons, terrorist reasons, or idiosyncratic reasons particular to a disturbed individual. For these reasons, the Secret Service has had to increase its threat assessment capabilities.

The objective of threat assessment is to identify, assess, and manage people who may pose a threat to the people the Secret Service protects. The ultimate goal of these threat assessment activities is to prevent assassination attempts. To achieve this ultimate protection goal, the Secret Service has had to work closely with different law enforcement agencies and with the National Institute of Justice. The Secret Service also conducted a study of 83 people who have attacked or come close to attacking a prominent figure in the U.S.

That study, the Exceptional Case Study Project, looked at the thinking and behavior of those participants with the hope of preventing future attacks. Of those who were studied, the majority carried out attacks on their own. The fruit of the Exceptional Case Study Project has been shared with other law enforcement agencies because protection is indeed a team effort. What is more, the information learned about these criminals can be generalized and potentially applied to understanding criminal behavior in related areas such as domestic violence and stalking. The Exceptional Case Study Project thus has the potential to generate new knowledge.

The generation of new knowledge is an important aspect of any discipline. What has been learned from the Exceptional Case Study Project can be considered new and highly relevant knowledge developed within the discipline of strategic security. These findings, their application, and further knowledge to be built off of it, speak to the value of colleges with intelligence degrees and of earning a protection degree.

Colleges with intelligence degrees are relatively new but nonetheless have an important role in the academic and practical aspects of important areas like protection. The student who earns a degree in intelligence or a protection degree will be equipped with a highly relevant body of knowledge ready for application, but he or she can also serve to further the development of knowledge in his or her area of specialty.

Accordingly, colleges with intelligence degrees have unique value. They can serve as a springboard for a deeper understanding of strategic security by taking part in the development of new knowledge. They can also contribute to greater security of our country by equipping students with knowledge that can be gained through a course of study found in a protection degree or some other strategic security domain.

Dan Sommer works for Henley-Putnam University, a leading educational institution in the field of Strategic Security. For more info on Henley-Putnam University, protection degree, colleges with intelligence degrees, call 888-852-8746 or visit us online at http://www.Henley-Putnam.edu

Dan Sommer works for Henley-Putnam University, a leading educational institution in the field of Strategic Security. For more info on Henley-Putnam University, protection degree, colleges with intelligence degrees, call 888-852-8746 or visit us online at http://www.Henley-Putnam.edu

Author Bio: Dan Sommer works for Henley-Putnam University, a leading educational institution in the field of Strategic Security. For more info on Henley-Putnam University, protection degree, colleges with intelligence degrees, call 888-852-8746 or visit us online at http://www.Henley-Putnam.edu

Category: Education
Keywords: protection degree, colleges with intelligence degrees