THRIVE

The expansion

• T: threat
• H: harm
• R: risk
• I: investigation
• V: vulnerability
• E: engagement

What it is for

THRIVE is the assessment a call handler or controller makes when a 999 or 101 call, web form or message comes in. It decides whether an incident log is opened, how urgently officers are sent, and whether the caller needs an enhanced service. It is practice shorthand with no statutory text behind it; each force sets the words in its own policy, and the Sussex policy below is the one this page was written from.

Where it comes from

Sussex Police's Force Call Grading, Deployment and Demand Management Policy (785/2026) states at paragraph 3.3: "THRIVE = Threat Harm Risk Investigation Vulnerability Engagement." The level, "measured as Low, Medium, or High", is "determined by considering the Harm and the Risk associated with an incident (which gives you the Threat level). Then you consider the Vulnerability factors associated with that incident." The policy adds that "THRIVE requires a continuous assessment throughout the lifespan of the incident."

The question set under each heading, from the same paragraph:

• Threat: "Risk assessment of the likelihood of something happening or getting worse", rather than a verbal or physical threat to someone.
• Harm: "Who or what has been harmed? Physical? Emotional? Property? Financial?"
• Risk: "Has it already happened? Could it happen? Could it get worse? Could it happen elsewhere?"
• Investigation: what further information the caller has provided beyond the first account.
• Vulnerability: established "through open questioning", covering vulnerabilities, risk and safeguarding, before a grade is assigned.
• Engagement: "Is this a police matter?", and whether further contact with the caller will be difficult.

Paragraph 3.2 ties it to the National Decision Model: THRIVE sits in the NDM's "gather information and intelligence and assess threat and risk and develop a working strategy phase". The College of Policing's NDM page describes that stage with the questions "What is happening? What do I know so far? What do I not know?"

When it is used

On receipt of every call the first-line handler cannot resolve, and on every non-voice contact. Under the Sussex policy a THRIVE is required on all category B to F incidents reporting anti-social behaviour, a crime or a crime-related incident, and a "Re-THRIVE" is run when deployment is delayed, the caller makes contact again, there is no response at the scene, or a timer expires.

Read on this site

• What Happens When You Call 999
• The National Decision Model
• DASH risk assessment in the glossary
• Safeguarding