DHS Should Convene Campus Law Enforcement Leaders Now
In this complex climate where grassroots movements like Black Lives Matter, Occupy and other movements relative to social justice/injustice, deeper partnerships must exist between college and university police/public safety personnel and the Homeland Security Enterprise (HSE).
Potential gaps were recognized at a recent forum regarding the police response to mass demonstrations. The meeting was facilitated by a contemporary Police Think Tank in Washington D.C. which gathered police executives, line officers, subject matter experts, and advocates from across the country to discuss how the nature of civil protests and the shifting philosophies that motivate the protesters has changed in the last few years. The goal of the gathering was to determine how to improve police response to these events and through discussion on experiences and sharing replicable best promising and emerging practices.
Police Chiefs and senior law enforcement leaders left with a unique perspective and access to robust resources and thought leaders.
One of the lessons learned so far include the use of bicycle officers at non-violent demonstrations. Bicycle officers are less provocative than officers in a traditional uniform and far less provocative than officers donning tactical uniforms. Perhaps we can attribute the affect of the uniform style to the psychology of some uniforms; less representative of the public and more in alignment with the military. The type of uniform police wear sends a message. The choice is ours. Recommended best practices to address issues affecting demonstrators, line officers, leadership and the greater communities include plans for communication with demonstration leaders, transparency and accountability measures, and deployment of improved strategies for officers and equipment.
Directors of university and college police and public safety departments must ask themselves: What measures are proving to be effective in terms of fostering on-campus collaborations with representatives of law enforcement and surrounding communities? Shouldn’t these measures be identified and replicated throughout the country?
We See leaders whose implementation of strategies that move beyond the theoretical expose facts that cannot be ignored. Tensions have ratcheted up over the past three years, in particular, for those in law enforcement serving on our nation’s college campuses. This is an emerging leadership challenge facing contemporary campus law enforcement professionals especially in anticipation of both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions this summer. One can also expect follow up stump speeches and visits to college campus to garner support and encourage voting. As media continues to report, there is no shortage of emotions that build up in a crowded political event.
Consider, too, the Arab Spring protest movement of 2011 and the groundswell of demonstrations and movements that have occurred in the United States in the last five years. At its core, the Arab Spring represented deep-seated resentment at the aging Arab dictatorships, anger at the brutality of the security apparatus, and unemployment. By corollary, the increase in mass demonstrations and protests are indicative of the same: treatment of minorities by the police, anger at our federal government and access to jobs.
Additionally, student participation at Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) helps to raise the profile of a cause and add additional pressure to the institutions leadership. Thinking back to campus tensions some 40 years ago, reminiscent of the Black Panther May Day demonstration at Yale University a veritable petri-dish exists in America from issues including, but not limited to, policing in communities of color, Islamoaphobia, immigration, jobs, and more recently, the national election.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Enterprise must develop more strategic links to all IHE.
IHEs represent a unique challenge to homeland security assessments because openness, diversity and inter-nationality are fundamental elements of their mission. Yet beyond crisis situations or dignitary visits, college campuses remain largely unexplored by Homeland Security agencies. As a first step, DHS should partner with the International Association of Campus law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA) to bring to bring together thought leaders, Campus Police Chiefs/ Directors of Public Safety and academics in a forum, similar to the one the Police Think Tank recently held, to discuss emerging trends, best practices and solutions on the way forward.
We must not miss an opportunity to strengthen campus law enforcement engagement and collaboration — all focused on achieving a unity of effort that will enhance our nation’s safety. Campus police leaders deserve a comprehensive resource guide that delivers best, promising, and emerging practices while detailing specific strategies, milestones, and language to use throughout the process from articulating the need and developing a proposal to ensuring successful execution. Campus police leaders not be in a vacuum or left without tools, forced to create their own solutions.
It is imperative that a comprehensive, solutions-focused approach that unifies efforts on college campuses and aligns through strategic partnerships with the DHS occur on a concerted and holistic basis — not just on an individual campus-by-campus basis throughout the country. Tapping the thought leadership from subject matter experts adopted in other situations and leveraging it in the work of a campus police leader makes fundamental sense with respect to strategic approach to civil unrest.
