Can a chatbot help identify threats?

Developing an Intelligent Chatbot to Improve Suspicious Activity Reporting

So What?

All too often after a violent event, people who knew the perpetrator realize there were warning signs. But a variety of factors hold people back from providing tips to authorities and make it difficult for authorities to connect information. Given the rising threat of targeted violence and terrorism, it is important to ease suspicious activity reporting.

Project Summary

The goal of this project is to improve the tips reporting process to minimize breakdowns in actions required to prevent terrorism and targeted violence. The proposed innovation project will create and test a chatbot for tips reporting that can be used either as a stand-alone tool or be integrated into existing tips reporting platforms.

Purpose/Objectives

This project could help prevent future attacks by using an intelligent chatbot to increase the likelihood that people provide tips while also improving the quality of the information provided when reporting suspicious activity.

Method

The research team will combine real-world online tips reporting data, focus groups with threat assessment team members across the country, national survey experiments, and lab-based experiments to understand gaps in the current terrorism and targeted violence tips reporting framework. The team will then develop and experimentally test an intelligent chatbot for terrorism and targeted violence tips reporting.

Outputs and Impact

• Chatbot technology
• Better understanding of barriers to reporting beyond those focused on trust in law enforcement
• Better understanding of behavioral threat assessment team needs
• Identification of common pitfalls in reporting platforms

	Erin Kearns, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Omaha Associate Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice College of Public Affairs and Community Service NCITE Head of Prevention Research Initiatives Expertise: Relationship between public perceptions of terrorism and counterterrorism practices, relationship between communities and law enforcement
	Joel Elson, Ph.D. University of Nebraska at Omaha Assistant Professor College of Information Science and Technology NCITE Head of Information Science & Technology Research Initiatives Expertise: Collaboration technologies, decision support systems

Reports and Publications

	Innovation in Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention: Developing and Testing on Intelligent Chatbot to Help Individuals Identify Threats and Improve Tips Reporting | Phase I Report This report explores how chatbots can assist individuals with identifying and reporting terrorism and targeted violence. It is the first of three-phased summary reports.
	Innovation in Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention: Developing and Testing an Intelligent Chatbot to Help Individuals Identify Threats and Improve Tips Reporting | Phase II Report This Phase II report documents the research team's efforts to create a chatbot aimed at improving and increasing tips reporting.
	Innovation in Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention: Developing and Testing an Intelligent Chatbot to Help Individuals Identify Threats and Improve Tips Reporting | Closeout Report This is the final closeout report documenting the project's goals and accomplishments.
	Developing and Testing an Intelligent Chatbot – Threat Assessment Team Cohesion NCITE researchers conducted focus groups with threat assessment teams to explore strengths and weaknesses in current tips reporting and identify potential areas for improvement.
	Developing and Testing an Intelligent Chatbot – Reporting Form Construction NCITE researchers conducted a lab study in Omaha to better understand online reporting systems. Participants watched a video of suspicious scenario and were assigned to report that scenario, either through a static webform or a prototype chatbot.
	Developing and Testing an Intelligent Chatbot – Knowledge Gaps in Reporting NCITE researchers conducted a national online survey to better understand the many points in which breakdowns occur during the process of identifying and sharing information about potential terrorism and targeted violence threats.