ABSTRACT
Then we sometimes hear, “He was so pleasant, maybe a little depressed, but he said that one day he would ‘make it big.’ He was always working on some angle.”
These are after-the-fact observations. In many cases, the attack or violent act might have been prevented if the early warning signs had been recognized or if
particular personality traits had been correctly interpreted. What follows is not meant to describe a complete psychological prole or turn readers into diagnosticians. But this chapter can serve as a general guideline for the novice or layman on how to recognize issues inherent in situations involving a volatile and potentially dangerous person. He may be a coworker, neighbor, or even family member. A second purpose is to describe to security professionals how to spot a potentially dangerous person in a crowd. A third objective is to allow readers to recognize and evaluate characteristics of a sociopathic (antisocial) personality who may intend to hurt or embarrass a protectee. This discussion also focuses on methods used by the aggressive person to bring violent conduct to a workplace setting.
