The effective communication of the risk of violent extremism using either numerical or semantic systems represents an important challenge for police agencies. The aim of the present study was to examine the perceived usefulness of an 8-category risk communication scheme widely used by German police. An online survey was completed by members of both federal as well as state police threat management teams throughout the country (N = 158). Results suggest that threat managers perceive the use of a common risk communication scheme to be crucial for successful cooperation across different police agencies to prevent acts of violent extremism. However, it was also found that threat managers do not share a mutual understanding of the meaning behind the eight risk categories in the present scheme. The authors review established best practices in the nomothetic and idiographic communication of risk and make constructive recommendations about how to improve the utility of the currently used system. If these recommendations are implemented, they could result in more effective preventative efforts by threat management teams collaborating throughout Germany, with positive implications for public safety and national security.

使用数字或语义系统有效传达暴力极端主义风险对警察机构来说是一个重要挑战。本研究的目的是检验德国警方广泛使用的 8 类风险沟通方案的实用性。全国联邦和州警察威胁管理小组的成员完成了一项在线调查（N = 158）。结果表明，威胁管理者认为，使用共同的风险沟通方案对于不同警察机构成功合作防止暴力极端主义行为至关重要。然而，我们还发现，威胁管理者对于当前方案中八个风险类别背后的含义并没有达成共识。作者回顾了在规则和具体风险沟通方面已建立的最佳实践，并就如何提高当前使用系统的实用性提出了建设性建议。如果这些建议得到实施，德国各地的威胁管理团队可能会采取更有效的预防措施，对公共安全和国家安全产生积极影响。