Prominent frameworks relating to terrorism and violent extremism, including that developed by the NYPD and the popular ‘pyramid’ and ‘staircase’ analogies, tend to oversimplify or neglect the diversity of routes that individuals travel to violence. The Three Pathways (3P) model developed by James Khalil contributes to theory, and provides an effective lens through which policymakers and implementers can evaluate their current and future preventive countermeasures under the countering and preventing violent extremism frameworks.