Darren Balsom
Threat Assessment Specialist, Calgary Police Service; Past President, Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals
2024
Darren Balsom has been a Threat Assessment Specialist with the Calgary Police Service for the past 18 years currently leads the Behavioural Analysis Team. In 2017, Darren completed the RCMP Threat Evaluation and Management understudy and has nearly completed the Criminal Investigative Analysis (Criminal Profiling) Understudy program with the RCMP.
Prior to Behavioral Analysis Darren has worked in the High-Risk Offender Program, Serious Habitual Offender Program, and general analysis section. Darren held a contract with the Correctional Services of Canada for 17 years and remains on contact with various federal government associated agencies offering treatment and assessment for federal offenders.
Darren is one of the founding members of and the past President of the Canadian Association of Threat Assessment Professionals.
Darren has conducted Threat and Risk Assessment training to various government and non-governmental agencies such as the Parole Board of Canada, the Correctional Services of Canada, Alberta Child and Family Services, the CPS Child Abuse Unit, Calgary Catholic School District, the Calgary Board of Education, the Calgary John Howard Society, University of Calgary the RCMP and more. Darren has lectured in Europe, Asia, Africa & the USA on offender profiling and threat assessment. In 2023 Darren was invited to join an FBI / international working group advancing the future of Threat Assessment for intelligence agencies and Law Enforcement throughout the Five Eye countries.
Darren is a graduate of the psychology and criminology programs of Memorial University of Newfoundland.
My network of professionals working on countering hate in all its forms grew exponentially after attending Eradicate Hate in 2021. The myriad voices represented at Eradicate Hate, from big tech companies to academic researchers to those with lived experience, reinforced to me the importance of cross-cutting and collaborative approaches to counter hate and its devastating impacts on society. I’ve been fortunate to sustain and build those networks with many of those I met at Eradicate Hate in 2021.
