Observation and Visual Threat Detection
Threat Awareness for Security Professionals
Learn a structured, repeatable process to recognize concerning behavior early, allowing you to act on behavioral indicators before situations escalate into a safety incidents. Grounded in DoD-funded research and validated by social scientists.
Turning awareness into professional judgment
This training is designed for security, safety, and field-based professionals operating in complex environments who are responsible for observing, interacting with, and protecting people and property. Not sure if you qualify? Check eligibility ▸
Past Trainees Include:
Healthcare Security Professionals
House of Worship Safety Team Members
Corporate Safety and Security Staff
Gaming and Hospitality Surveillance and Team Members
K-12 and Higher Ed Security Personnel
Executive Protection Agents
After 433 participants completed this program:
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96.5%
reported that the program would assist them in their job.
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97.7%
felt better prepared to use behavior to identify a suspicious person.
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97.2%
indicated that the program provided new tools to articulate decisions.
Trainee Testimonials
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“I feel I have added tools in detecting weapons and contraband possession. For executive protection in crowded areas — while not routine, we do perform this task — my detection of persons of interest is stronger now. Sooner or later, one of these situations ends up in civil or criminal court, and being able to professionally describe the process is essential.”
-Executive Protection Professional
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“As a security professional, the techniques discussed in this program will directly contribute to the overall safety of our employees, contractors, visitors, assets, and the company's image. Being able to target possible threats and articulate the reasoning for targeting individuals will be greatly beneficial to overall safety and reputation.”
-Security Analyst
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“Being able to pick out persons of interest, along with giving a clear definitive reason as to why a person was chosen, will allow us to focus more time on legitimate threats. Things I had noticed in the past have actually been defined — for example, a subject carrying a firearm will sometimes do a security feel and pick at the bottom of their shirt to reassure themselves the firearm is concealed. When I train people in the future, I will refer back to this material.”
-Surveillance Manager | Gaming and Hospitality
What you will learn
The class combines lecture material, interactive videos, and practical exercises. All participants receive a certificate of completion.
Systematically assess a behavioral baseline using the Behavioral Baseline Instrument (BBI)
Identify the roles, deviations, and objectives of those you are observing
Recognize pre-incident behaviors, including those associated with individuals carrying weapons or preparing for potential violence
Identify a Person of Interest (POI) and recognize a potential threat
Use commonly understood terminology to better articulate their actions
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Duration: 8 hour (online) · 8 hours (instructor-led) + Refresher
Format: Self-paced (online) or in-person (instructor-led)
POST credit: Applicable toward POST or state in-service requirements (as appropriate)
Exam: Theory and practical exam — 70% average required to pass
Prerequisites: None
Watch this short introductory video to learn more.
This video will give you a brief overview of our Threat Awareness Program and how it can benefit you or your team. You will learn about why threat assessment training is important and hear about the program’s history, objectives, and key concepts. Discover the immediate impact this training can have and hear from past participants about why this program is vital for enhancing safety and preparedness in today’s world.
Starting at $299 per participant
Volume discounts, subscriptions, and instructor-led pricing available — enroll online or schedule a meeting with the Second Sight team to learn more about getting this program for your team.
Related Training
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Situational Awareness for Safety
This course equips learners with a structured, teachable observation process that enables them to systematically observe their environments and recognize early behavioral deviations that signal emerging safety concerns.
In-person and online versions of this course are available.
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Threat Observation
This course equips learners with a research-validated, structured, repeatable observation process that strengthens systematic observation skills to identify behavioral threats. Participants will be able to distinguish benign behavior from deviations that may signal emerging concerns.
In-person and online versions of this course are available.
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Threat Awareness in Practice
This is an online refresher course designed to help learners review key concepts and practice their active threat assessment skills. Access is limited to those who have completed the Threat Awareness training program.
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Interview Planning and Credibility Assessment in Security Investigations
A research-based, instructor-led training program that teaches interview planning, rapport-building, the strategic use of evidence, and credibility assessment for security investigations.
Frequently Asked Questions
8 hours + Refresher | Online and Instructor-Led | Security professionals and teams
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This program is designed for security professionals, including corporate safety and security teams, gaming and hospitality security, executive protection, school safety, houses of worship safety teams, healthcare security, and others whose roles involve public-facing observation and safety decision-making.
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The core structured observation methodology is the same. The security version is tailored to the operational environments, reporting structures, and decision-making contexts most relevant to private and institutional security professionals rather than sworn law enforcement.
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Participants will be able to apply a structured, repeatable observation process to identify meaningful behavioral deviations, contextualize what they're observing, and make defensible safety decisions, including documentation appropriate for organizational reporting and review.
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Threat Awareness for Security Professionals is the core observation and visual threat detection program in our Security track for private and institutional security professionals, building directly on the concepts introduced in Threat Observation. It is followed by the Threat Awareness in Practice refresher training, recommended six months after completion.
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Eight hours total, plus the online refresher training. For our online training, we strongly recommend distributing the program across multiple sessions, one to two hours per sitting over one to two weeks, rather than completing it in a single day. Pacing significantly improves retention and practical application.
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Yes. The Threat Awareness Refresher is included at no additional cost with the eight-hour program and is recommended six months after completion to support continued skill retention. The program can be purchased at a reduced cost without the refresher.
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Yes. Multi-license purchasing is available, along with monthly enrollment tracking reports for administrators.