15 Hours / 15 CEs

On Demand | Self-Paced Professional Training

This on-demand professional training program on the Multi-Level Guidelines Version 2 (MLG-V2) is presented by Stephen D. Hart, PhD in partnership with Protect International Risk and Safety Services.

Group-based violence (including organized crime, hate crime, and gang violence) is a prevalent and serious international problem, and it is critical that professionals engage in best practices to prevent future incidents and tragedies.

 This program is the official launch of the newest version of the Multi-Level Guidelines (MLG), a structured professional judgment guideline for assessing and managing risk for group-based violence. Significant updates have been made to the guidelines, reflecting advances related to research, practice, and the law and incorporating feedback from diverse professionals around the world.

This program is designed for professionals whose work involves risk assessment and management, including those working in criminal justice, security, victim services, forensic mental health, civil mental health, general health care, social services, human resources, occupational health and safety, and legal services.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this training, participants will be able to:

  • 1 Describe key concepts and identifying risk factors.
  • 2 Describe decision theory.
  • 3 Describe combining risk factors.
  • 4 Describe administration of the MLG-V2.
  • 5 Describe structured professional judgment of the MLG-V2.
  • 6 Describe the concept of group-based violence and how group affiliation, identity, and dynamics influence individual decisions to engage in violence.
  • 7 Describe the domains and risk factors in the MLG-V2 for assessing group-based violence.
  • 8 Describe the roles of motivators, disinhibitors, and destabilizers in influencing the decision-making processes related to group-based violence.
  • 9 Describe the process of scenario planning in GBV risk assessment, including the development and evaluation of possible decisions.
  • 10 Describe how individual, group, and societal factors interact to increase or mitigate the risk for group-based violence.
  • Intended Audience

    This training is intended for professionals whose work involves the assessment and management of risks related to group-based violence, such as organized crime, hate crime, and gang violence. Participants typically have expertise in fields like forensic psychology, clinical psychology, social work, criminal justice, and related disciplines, with a focus on evaluating risk, developing management strategies, and applying structured professional judgment guidelines.

  • Experience Level

      This training is appropriate for licensed and pre-licensed mental health professionals with varying levels of experience in risk assessment and management related to group-based violence.
  • Practice Setting

    • Forensic psychiatric hospitals and secure treatment centers
    • Correctional institutions and probation/parole offices
    • Police departments and specialized law enforcement units
    • Community mental health clinics
    • Social service agencies supporting at-risk populations
    • Victim support and advocacy organizations
    • School boards and educational institutions
    • Corporate human resources and occupational health departments
    • Legal aid clinics and court systems
    • Security consulting firms and private security companies
    • Emergency response and crisis intervention teams
    • Government agencies focused on public safety and crime prevention

Presented By

Stephen D. Hart, PhD

Dr. Stephen D. Hart obtained BA, MA, and PhD degrees in psychology at the University of British Columbia. He has been on faculty in the Department of Psychology at Simon Fraser University since 1990, and has held the rank of Professor since 2001. He also served as a Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bergen in Norway between 2000 and 2021. His expertise is in the field of clinical-forensic psychology, with a special focus on the assessment of violence risk and psychopathic personality disorder. He has co-authored more than 250 books, chapters, and articles. He has served as editor of two scientific journals; a member of the editorial board of eight journals; and ad hoc reviewer for more than 40 journals. He has served as an executive committee member of several professional organizations, including President of the American Psychology-Law Society and the International Association of Forensic Mental Health Services. He has received various distinctions for his professional work, including the Career Achievement Award from the Society of Clinical Psychology, the Saleem Shah Award for Early Career Research Excellence in Psychology and Law from the American Psychology-Law Society and the American Academy of Forensic Psychology, and the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Threat Assessment Professionals. He maintains an active practice in violence risk assessment. He has consulted with government agencies from more than 25 countries; led more than 500 training workshops around the world; and given expert evidence before courts, tribunals, inquests, review boards, and parliamentary committees in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

View More Programs from this Presenter
Stephen D. Hart, PhD

Training Outline

Key topics covered in this training include:

  • Structured Professional Judgement

  • Risk Management

  • Research and Law

  • Feedback

We are proud to partner with

Protect International Risk and Safety Services

Protect International Risk and Safety Services

We are proud to partner with Protect International Risk and Safety Services for this training. Protect International's threat assessment professionals are internationally recognized experts that have developed some of the world's most widely used and best-validated threat assessment tools. Protect International provides services and products related to violence risk assessment and management, also known as threat assessment and management. Protect International services and products include threat assessment training and support, case assessment and management, legal consultation, policy review and development, and program evaluation and research; along with threat assessment manuals, worksheets, licenses, and software applications for those tools.

CE Sponsorship Information

Palo Alto University, Continuing & Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by, recognized by, or maintains sponsorship provider status with the following boards and agencies. We maintain responsibility for all content in our CE/CPD programs. For more information, visit here. 

  1. American Psychological Association (APA): Approved sponsor of continuing education for psychologists.

  2. Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB): Approved continuing education provider (ACE program, Provider #1480), 11/22/2023–11/22/2026.

  3. Canadian Psychological Association (CPA): Approved to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.

  4. National Board for Certified Counselors (NBCC): Approved Continuing Education Provider (ACEP No. 7190).



Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) maintains responsibility for this program and its content. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT), SW CPE is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0356 and the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0073. Palo Alto University, Continuing and Professional Studies (CONCEPT) has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6811. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CONCEPT Professional Training, #1480, is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved as ACE providers. State and provincial regulatory boards have the final authority to determine whether an individual course may be accepted for continuing education credit. CONCEPT Professional Training maintains responsibility for this course. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/23-11/22/26. Social workers completing this course receive (clinical or social work ethics) continuing education credits.