WHAT I DO
Julia is a Tactical & Forensic Linguist and Independent Researcher based in Los Angeles, CA, dedicated to addressing a pivotal global challenge of our time: terrorism and other types of targeted violence. The main focus in her career has been the synergy of theoretical approaches and practical applications of language analysis in a law enforcement and threat assessment environment. Being a trained expert in “Forensic Linguistics”, Julia has a unique skill set that allows her to combine traditional violence prevention with linguistics—the science of language—and devise proactive measures to enhance national security and public safety efforts.
Consultancy
As a consultant, Julia collaborates with law enforcement agencies and threat assessment / security teams at large corporations, educational facilities and art institutions, and supports inquiries by scientifically analyzing language evidence, either in a criminal, intelligence or operational context. This includes assessing terrorism manifestos, suicide letters, bomb threats, ransom demands, threatening notes, stalking letters and bullying emails.
Certifications
Terrorism Liaison Officer (TLO; Joint Regional Intelligence Center; 09/2019)
Terrorist Radicalization Assessment Protocol (TRAP-18; Dr. Reid Meloy; 01/2021)
Advanced Threat Assessment Academy (ATA; Gavin de Becker & Associates; 10/2022)
Communications Threat Assessment Protocol (CTAP-25; Theseus Risk Management; 01/2022)
Advanced Workshop: Terrorism Threat Assessment Masterclass (Dr. Paul Gill @CATAP; 10/2022)
Workplace & Campus Assessment of Violence Risk (WAVR-21, Drs. Stephen White and Reid Meloy; 02/2023)
Threat Evaluation and Reporting Overview (Department of Homeland Security, National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Program Office; 04/2024)
Research
As a scholar, Julia studies targeted violence, suicide and stalking communications to enhance the prevention and mitigation of different types of violent threats by bridging the gap between academic research and real-world impact. Her work has been featured in scientific journals and peer-reviewed magazines, such as Perspectives on Terrorism, the Journal of Threat Assessment and Management, the FBI’s magazine Law Enforcement Bulletin, the Global Network on Extremism and Technology, the Accelerationism Research Consortium, ASIS’ magazine Security Management, and IEEE Xplore. A full list of her publications can be found here.
Julia is currently leading several studies on the Buffalo, Bratislava and Halle terrorism attacks to assess the linguistic evidence of these cases with renowned experts from the threat assessment, forensic linguistic and forensic psychological sphere. She also researches, writes and designs infographics that explore unique forensic linguistic concepts.
Julia joined The Accelerationism Research Consortium as a research fellow in October 2022. ARC is a cross-sector collaboration of researchers, practitioners, analysts and journalists who are dedicated to understanding and mitigating the threat posed by accelerationist terrorism and political violence.
Grants
Julia received a research grant from the Global Network on Extremism and Technology (GNET) for her study Going Dark: The Inverse Relationship Between Online and on the Ground Pre-offense Behavior in Targeted Attackers.
Peer-reviewing & other experience
Julia was invited to peer-review a forensic linguistic book manuscript for Cambridge University Press, as well as research manuscripts for the journals Terrorism and Political Violence, Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression, and the Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism, involving targeted violence manifestos, linguistic risk assessment frameworks and detecting terrorism communications online.
She also served as a Subject Matter Expert & Faculty Content Consultant at the California School of Forensic Studies at Alliant International University (San Diego/US) in 2021, where she created and designed three 8-week evidence-based theory courses in “Forensic Linguistics”. She played a pivotal role in crafting weekly lectures and assignments with a focus on linguistic threat assessment and forensic authorship analysis in collaboration with her mentor, the late Dr. John Olsson. The forensic linguistic concentrations have been incorporated in the advanced Master of Science (Forensic Behavioral Science) and Doctoral of Philosophy, Psychology, Public Policy and Law programs.
Prior to this, she worked as a Communication & Content Lead on a regulatory program at a financial institution. Julia also held several positions as a Writer, Editor and Translator at media and marketing companies in Los Angeles (US), New York (US) and London (UK).
International think tank
Julia is a founding member of the international Linguistic Threat Assessment Think Tank, which was established to bridge the gap between language research into threats and operational threat assessment analysis. Several scholars (linguists, psychologists, psycholinguists) and practitioners (law enforcement, public safety) from North America and Europe meet monthly to discuss theoretical linguistic approaches and practical threat mitigation techniques. Julia leads the planning and overall strategy of the group, which includes inviting high-profile experts in the field to present and join our discussions. Through their published and ongoing research projects, the think tank has directly enhanced behavioral threat assessment protocols and Ms. Kupper has been presenting the actionable findings of their scientific studies to government officials, intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
EDUCATION
Julia completed an undergraduate degree in “English Language with German” at the University of Westminster in London (UK). She graduated with a first-class honors ‘Bachelor of Arts’ in 2013. Julia’s major, English Language, heavily focused on linguistic modules, for instance English grammar, syntax, semantics, pragmatics, morphology, dialectology, phonology, phonetics, discourse analysis and intercultural communication. Her minor, German, focused on translating and interpreting documents from ENG <> GER.
After moving to the United States, Julia continued her studies in the form of a distance learning program at the Forensic Linguistics Institute, based in the United Kingdom. Between 2016 and 2020, she earned a Certificate, Advanced Certificate, Diploma and Advanced Diploma with distinction in “Forensic Linguistics”. During these studies, Julia examined real-life criminal cases that were previously assessed by her professor and mentor, the late Dr. John Olsson. Her work products included linguistic analyses of suicide notes, ransom demands, hate letters, confessions and text messages from kidnapping/homicide cases.
MEMBERSHIPS
Current
Association of Threat Assessment Professionals (ATAP), Los Angeles Chapter
Past
International Association of Law Enforcement Intelligence Analysts (IALEIA)
Germanic Society for Forensic Linguistics (GSFL)