| Course | PAC 410 Crisis Intervention and Prevention |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 3 |
| Paper type | Violence risk paper |
| Length | About 1,086 words, 6 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PAC 410 Module 3
"I'll Kill Him": Assessing a Homicide Threat From a Drinking Caller and Meeting the Duty to Protect
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
PAC 410: Crisis Intervention and Prevention
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
"I'll Kill Him": Assessing a Homicide Threat From a Drinking Caller and Meeting the Duty to Protect
The call came in at four in the afternoon. The caller, Wade, was forty-one, a heating and cooling technician, and his divorce had been finalized two months earlier. He had been drinking since noon. His former wife had begun seeing a man Wade knew from his old softball league, and Wade had seen the man's truck at her house that morning, where his two children live. "I'll kill him," he said. "I'm not kidding. I know where he works." This paper describes how the counselor assessed and responded to the threat. Wade and the people he named are fictional, as is the crisis service; the studies are published research.
Substance Use and Violence
Swanson et al. (1990) analyzed data from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area surveys, which interviewed thousands of adults in several American communities, including questions about violent behavior in the past year. People with no psychiatric disorder rarely reported violence. People with serious mental illnesses such as schizophrenia reported violence more often than those with no disorder, but people with substance use disorders reported violence far more often still, and people with both a serious mental illness and a substance use disorder had the highest rates. The authors concluded that substance use was a stronger correlate of violence than mental illness alone and that most people with mental illness were not violent.
For Wade, the finding matters directly: he has no known mental illness, but he is intoxicated, and alcohol is one of the factors most consistently associated with violence.
What Risk Tools Can and Cannot Do
Fazel et al. (2012) conducted a meta-analysis of studies using structured instruments to predict violence and antisocial behavior, involving tens of thousands of people. The tools performed better at identifying people at low risk than at identifying those who would be violent. Many people classified as high risk did not go on to be violent, while most people classified as low risk did not. The authors concluded that risk assessment tools should not be used as the sole basis for decisions about individuals, and that they were best used to inform clinical judgment and management.
For a crisis counselor on a phone call, no tool can determine whether Wade will act. The counselor's task is to gather the information that matters most, respond to the danger it reveals and take reasonable protective steps.
Structured Assessment
| Area | What Wade said | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Intent | "I'll kill him. I'm not kidding." | High: explicit, repeated |
| Plan | Knows where the man works; has thought about going there | High: target and location known |
| Means | Owns a handgun, kept in his truck | High: lethal means immediately available |
| History | No arrests; one shoving incident with his former wife two years ago, per his own account | Moderate: prior aggression toward her |
| Intoxication | Drinking since noon; slurring | High: disinhibition, impaired judgment |
| Protective factors | His children; "I don't want them to see me in jail" | Present and important |
| Limits he set | Agreed to stay on the phone | An opening for de-escalation |
The Duty to Protect
Monahan (1993) offered guidelines for clinicians facing a duty to protect potential victims, which arose from a 1976 California court decision and has since been adopted in different forms by many states. Under such laws, when a client communicates a serious threat of violence against an identifiable person, clinicians may be required, or permitted, to take reasonable steps to protect that person, such as warning the person, notifying police or arranging hospitalization. Monahan recommended four elements of risk containment: assessing risk with appropriate information, managing risk with reasonable interventions, documenting what was known and done and having agency policies that guide staff. He emphasized that the standard is reasonable professional practice, not perfect prediction. Crisis counselors must know the specific law in their state, which in some states requires action and in others permits it.
The Response
The counselor did several things at once. She kept Wade talking, reflecting his anger and hurt without arguing, and asked about his children, which slowed him down. She asked directly whether he was also thinking of hurting himself, since homicidal and suicidal thinking often occur together; he said he did not care what happened to him. Through the team's internal messaging, she alerted her supervisor, who listened in and agreed that the threat was serious and imminent. The supervisor called the police while the counselor stayed on the line, providing Wade's location and the fact that he had a handgun in his truck. Following the state's law and the agency's policy, the team also contacted the man Wade had named, through his workplace, and warned him. Wade remained on the phone until officers arrived at his home, where he was taken for an emergency evaluation; the officers secured the handgun.
Why the Children Mattered
Wade's two children live with his former wife, at the house where he saw the other man's truck. Their presence did two things in the call. It was his strongest protective factor: he did not want them to see him in jail, and talking about them slowed his speech and lowered his voice. It also raised the stakes, because any violence at the house could harm them directly. The counselor used the first to engage him and kept the second in mind when deciding to act, and the team later made sure the children's mother knew how to reach an advocate.
Documentation
The counselor documented Wade's exact words, the assessment in each area, the consultation with her supervisor and its timing, the calls to police and the warning, the reasons for each action and the outcome. The documentation reflected Monahan's guidance that reasonable steps, clearly recorded, are the standard.
Afterward
The next day, the team followed up with the hospital and offered Wade, once stable, a referral for alcohol treatment and counseling for the divorce. Wade's children and former wife were offered support through a domestic violence advocate, given his past shoving incident.
Conclusion
Wade's threat combined explicit intent, a known target, a gun and intoxication. Swanson and colleagues show that substance use, more than mental illness, is linked to violence, Fazel and colleagues show that tools cannot settle such a situation alone and Monahan shows how to meet the duty to protect through assessment, management, documentation and policy. The counselor's response, keeping Wade engaged while consulting, alerting police and warning the person he named, met that duty and likely prevented harm to several people, including Wade.
References
Fazel, S., Singh, J. P., Doll, H., & Grann, M. (2012). Use of risk assessment instruments to predict violence and antisocial behaviour in 73 samples involving 24 827 people: Systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 345, e4692. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e4692
Monahan, J. (1993). Limiting therapist exposure to Tarasoff liability: Guidelines for risk containment. American Psychologist, 48(3), 242-250. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.48.3.242
Swanson, J. W., Holzer, C. E., Ganju, V. K., & Jono, R. T. (1990). Violence and psychiatric disorder in the community: Evidence from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area surveys. Hospital and Community Psychiatry, 41(7), 761-770. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.41.7.761
Reading the PAC 410 Module 3 assignment instructions
Homicide threats are the third module's subject in PAC 410, and assignments usually ask you to assess the seriousness of a threat, respond safely and meet legal and ethical duties. Read Aspen's Module 3 wording in your course; Wade is a composite. Present research on violence risk, including the role of substance use. Explain the strengths and limits of risk assessment tools. Assess the threat with structured questions about intent, plan, means, history and protective factors. Explain the duty to protect in your jurisdiction's terms without overstating it. Describe your response, consultation and documentation, citing each source in APA 7. Check for suicidal thinking alongside the threat. Name the protective factors and how you used them.
How this PAC 410 Module 3 example is built
Wade has a handgun, has been drinking since noon and knows where the new partner works. Swanson and colleagues' Hospital and Community Psychiatry analysis of the Epidemiologic Catchment Area data supplies the link between substance use and violence. Fazel and colleagues' BMJ meta-analysis explains why tools cannot settle the question alone. A seven-row table assesses intent, plan, means, history, intoxication, protective factors and stated limits. Monahan's American Psychologist article supplies guidelines for risk assessment, management, documentation and policy under the duty to protect. The response combines de-escalation, a supervisor's consultation, a call to police, a warning to the named person and a check for suicidal thinking, all documented, with follow-up the next day.
Reading the PAC 410 Module 3 grading rubric
Violence risk papers earn credit for accurate research, structured assessment and a response that meets legal and ethical duties without overreaction or inaction. This example reports Swanson and colleagues' finding that substance use, not mental illness alone, carried most of the elevated risk, which corrects a common stereotype. Fazel and colleagues' results are explained in terms of predictive values. The assessment table makes the counselor's reasoning visible. Monahan's guidelines structure the response and documentation. The paper is careful to describe the duty to protect as varying by state and to show consultation before action, which is the standard of practice. Protective factors, such as his children, are used to slow him down.
Common PAC 410 Module 3 mistakes, and how to avoid them
Papers on homicide threats often treat any threat as certain danger or dismiss threats as venting. Use structured assessment of intent, plan, means, history and intoxication. Report research accurately; substance use raises violence risk more than serious mental illness alone. Explain what risk tools can and cannot do. Describe the duty to protect carefully, noting that laws vary by state. Consult a supervisor before acting where time allows. Document what was said, what was assessed and what was done. Keep the caller engaged while protective steps are taken, and remember that his safety matters too, since homicidal and suicidal thinking often travel together. Follow up after the crisis.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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PAC 410 Module 3 questions, answered
What does PAC 410 Module 3 usually ask for?
Aspen's PAC 410 covers homicide threats and violence here, so assessing a threat and responding while meeting legal and ethical duties is typical. Check the Module 3 prompt.
Are people with mental illness more violent?
Swanson and colleagues found substance use disorders were linked to much higher rates of violence than serious mental illness alone, and most people with mental illness were not violent.
Can risk assessment tools predict violence?
Fazel and colleagues found tools identify low-risk people fairly well but many people rated high risk do not become violent, so tools should not be the sole basis for decisions.
Where can I find a free PAC 410 Module 3 sample paper?
The complete paper is here: assessing and responding to a homicide threat from a drinking caller, with a structured assessment and the duty to protect.
What is the duty to protect?
An obligation in law and ethics, which differs from state to state, that may require or allow a clinician to act, for example by warning or calling police, when a client seriously threatens a named person.