Code of Conduct Flashcards
Informal Resolution of Ethical Violations
When Members believe that there may have been an ethical violation by another Member, they attempt to resolve the
issue by bringing it to the attention of that individual, if an informal resolution appears appropriate and the intervention
does not violate any confidentiality rights that may be involved.
Reporting Ethical Violations
If an apparent ethical violation has substantially harmed or is likely to substantially harm a person or organization and is not appropriate for informal resolution. Such action might include referral to state
or national committees on professional ethics, to state licensing boards, or to the appropriate institutional authorities. This
standard does not apply when an intervention would violate confidentiality rights or when Members have been retained to
review the work of another Member whose professional conduct is in question.
Boundaries of Competence
1.Members provide services, teach, and conduct research in areas only within the boundaries of their competence or expertise, based on their education, training, supervised experience, consultation, study, or professional experience.
2. Where scientific or professional knowledge in the discipline of violence risk assessment and threat assessment establishes that an understanding of factors associated with age, gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, culture, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, or socioeconomic status is essential for effective implementation of
their services or research, Members have or obtain the training, experience, consultation, or supervision necessary to ensure the competence of their services, or they make appropriate referrals.
3. Members planning to provide services, teach, or conduct research involving populations, areas, techniques, or
technologies new to them undertake relevant education, training, supervised experience, consultation, or study. (d) In
those emerging areas in which generally recognized standards for preparatory training do not yet exist, Members
nevertheless take reasonable steps to ensure the competence of their work and to protect clients, research participants,
and others from harm.
4. When assuming forensic roles, Members are or become reasonably familiar with the judicial or administrative rules governing their roles.
Bases for Scientific and Professional Judgments
Members’ work is based upon established scientific and professional knowledge of the discipline.
Delegation of Work to Others
Members who delegate work to employees, supervisees; or research or teaching assistants; or who use the services of others, such as interpreters, take reasonable steps to (1) avoid delegating such work to persons who have a multiple relationship with those being served that would likely lead to exploitation or loss of objectivity; (2) authorize only those
responsibilities that such persons can be expected to perform competently on the basis of their education, training, or experience, either independently or with the level of supervision being provided; and (3) see that such persons perform these services competently.
Personal Problems, Considerations, or Conflicts
Members refrain from initiating an activity when they know or should know that there is a substantial likelihood that personal problems, considerations, or conflicts will prevent them from performing their work-related activities in a competent manner.
(b) When Members become aware of personal problems, considerations, or conflicts that may interfere with their ability to perform work-related duties adequately, they take appropriate measures, such as obtaining professional consultation or assistance, and determine whether they should limit, suspend, or terminate their work-related duties.
Multiple Relationships
A multiple relationship occurs when a Member is in a professional role with a person and (1) at the same time is in another role with the same person, (2) at the same time is in a relationship with a person closely associated with or related to the person with whom the Member has the professional relationship, or (3)promises to enter into another relationship in the future with the person or a person closely associated with or related to that person.
A Member refrains from entering into a multiple relationship if the multiple relationships could
reasonably be expected to impair the Member’s objectivity, competence, or effectiveness in performing his or her functions as a practitioner, or otherwise risks exploitation or harm to the person with whom the professional relationship exists.
Multiple relationships that would not reasonably be expected to cause impairment or risk exploitation or harm are not unethical.
If a Member finds that, due to unforeseen factors, a potentially harmful multiple relationship has arisen, the
Member takes reasonable steps to resolve it with due regard for the best interests of the affected person and maximal compliance with the Ethics Code.
(c) When Members are required by law, institutional policy, or extraordinary circumstances to serve in more than one role in judicial or administrative proceedings, at the outset they clarify role expectations and the extent of confidentiality and thereafter as changes occur. (
Conflict of Interest
Members refrain from taking on a professional role when personal, scientific, professional, legal, financial, or other interests or relationships could reasonably be expected to (1) impair their objectivity, competence, or effectiveness in performing their functions as practitioners or (2) expose the person or organization with whom the professional relationship exists to harm or exploitation.
Third-Party Requests for Services
When Members agree to provide services to a person or entity at the request of a third party, Members attempt to clarify at the outset of the service the nature of the relationship with all individuals or organizations involved. This clarification includes the role of the Member (e.g., consultant, assessor, case manager, or expert witness), an identification of who is the client, the probable uses of the services provided or the information obtained, and the fact that there may be limits to confidentiality.
Recording
Before recording the voices or images of individuals to whom they provide services, Members obtain permission from all such persons or their legal representatives if required by law and regulation in the jurisdiction in which they are conducting their work.
Disclosures
Members may disclose confidential information with the appropriate consent of the client or another legally
authorized person on behalf of the client unless prohibited by law. (b) Members disclose confidential information without the consent of the individual only as mandated by law, or where permitted by law for a valid purpose such as to (1) provide needed professional services; (2) obtain appropriate
professional consultations; (3) protect the client, Member, or others from harm; or (4) obtain payment for services from a client, in which instance disclosure is limited to the minimum that is necessary to achieve the purpose.
Consultations
When consulting with colleagues, Members do not disclose confidential information that reasonably could lead to the identification of a client, research participant, or other person or organization with whom they have a confidential relationship unless they have obtained the prior consent of the person or organization or the disclosure cannot be avoided,
and/or they disclose information only to the extent necessary to achieve the purposes of the consultation. (See also 4.01,
Maintaining Confidentiality.)
Use of Confidential Information for Didactic or Other Purposes
Members do not disclose in their writings, lectures, or other public media, confidential, personally identifiable information concerning their clients, students, research participants, organizational clients, or other recipients of their services that they obtained during the course of their work, unless (1) they take reasonable steps to disguise the person or organization, (2)the person or organization has consented in writing, or (3) there is legal authorization for doing so.
Avoidance of False or Fraudulent Statements
Public statements include but are not limited to paid or unpaid advertising, product endorsements, grant
applications, licensing applications, other credentialing applications, brochures, printed material, directory listings,
personal resumes or curricula vitae, or comments for use in media such as print or electronic transmission, statements in
legal proceedings, lectures and public oral presentations, and published materials. Members do not knowingly make
public statements that are false or fraudulent concerning their research, practice, or other work activities or those of
persons or organizations with which they are affiliated.
(b) Members do not make false or fraudulent statements concerning (1) their training, experience, or competence; (2)
their academic degrees; (3) their credentials, including their designation as an Association Certified Threat Manager; (4)
their institutional or association affiliations; (5) their services; (6) the scientific or clinical basis for, or results or degree of
success of, their services; (7) their fees; or (8) their publications or research findings.
(c) Members claim degrees as credentials only if those degrees (1) were earned from a regionally or nationally
accredited educational institution or (2) were the basis for licensure by the state in which they practice.
. Procedure for Addressing Ethical Concerns
Members who have concerns about possible ethics violations on the part of another ATAP member are encouraged to first attempt to bring such concerns to the attention of that member in order that it might be resolved at the lowest level of intervention
