New Communities of Color Toolkit Now Available!

 

Last week the Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office), in partnership with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), announced the release of a new online toolkit, Bridging the Trust Gap Between Law Enforcement and Communities of Color." As this nation continues to grapple with strained relations between law enforcement and communities of color, this toolkit is not only timely but also necessary," said COPS Office Acting Director Russ Washington.

 

The IACP convened three focus groups of community stakeholders, frontline officers, and law enforcement executives to identify challenges facing law enforcement and the community and to discuss strategies that have been used successfully to develop communities of trust. The resulting toolkit is a collection of promising programs that police, including campus law enforcement, can use for engaging communities of color, defined as people of African, Latino or Hispanic, Native American, Asian, or Pacific Island descent. 

 

The toolkit is organized into four sections:

In August 2016, the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Law Enforcement Executives and Administrators requested assistance from the National Center for Public Safety (NCCPS) to create an environment where they could have open, honest, and poignant conversations about race and policing. The NCCPS facilitated a two-day emerging issues forum that involved in-depth discussions between student leaders and their police chiefs/safety directors. The resulting report,  A National Conversation on Police and Community Interactions on HBCU Campuses (PDF), includes an overview of the participants' discussions regarding gaps in perception between students and public safety officials and identifies recommendations to assist in bridging those gaps.

 

To learn more about the programs, services, and resources available to support community policing, access the complete toolkit online and visit the COPS Office, IACP, and NCCPS websites.

April is Alcohol Awareness Month

 

The National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, Inc. (NCADD) established Alcohol Awareness Month in 1987 "to help reduce the stigma so often associated with alcoholism by encouraging communities to reach out to the American public each April with information about alcohol, alcoholism and recovery." NCADD continues to sponsor Alcohol Awareness Month each April to provide an opportunity to decrease stigma and misunderstandings in order to dismantle the barriers to treatment and recovery. Affiliates, supporting organizations, colleges and universities, and others who want to help raise awareness can do so through the use of media strategies, awareness campaigns, programs, and events in their local communities. The 31st Annual Alcohol Awareness Month Organizer's Guide (PDF) is designed to provide a comprehensive approach to addressing underage drinking. This kit includes:

Alcohol and drug use by young people affects individuals and society, and is directly associated with traffic fatalities, violence, suicide, educational failure, alcohol overdose, unsafe sex, and other problem behaviors, even for those who may never develop a dependence or addiction. The 2017 Alcohol Awareness Month theme, "Connecting the Dots: Opportunities for Recovery," is designed to draw attention to the many opportunities individuals, families, and communities have to help prevent teen alcohol use.

 

To learn more about Alcohol Awareness Month, and alcohol-related problems in general, visit the NCADD, healthfinder.gov, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention websites.

Remembering Virginia Tech Ten Years Later

 

It's difficult to believe ten years have passed since the tragedy at Virginia Tech. On April 16, 2007, the nation mourned the loss of 32 students and faculty members, family, friends, and loved ones.

 

 

April 16, 2007 changed the trajectory of campus public safety. In the ten years that have passed, new protocols have been established regarding active threats, threat assessment, campus notification systems, and much more. Following the tragedy, survivors and family members founded the Virginia Tech Victims (VTV) Family Outreach Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy group with a mission to advocate for stronger K-12 and campus safety by preventing similar tragedies. VTV accomplishes this through education and advocacy; by employing comprehensive educational efforts to expand community and student awareness of campus safety issues; and offering compassion, support, and hope to those affected by violence. VTV has developed, and continues to expand, programs to support and train K-12 and college campus community stakeholders on issues including crisis response, compliance with the Clery Act, compliance with the Violence Against Women Act, and positive practices for school resource officers. Their signature program, 32 National Campus Safety Initiative (32 NCSI), is a free, confidential, self-paced, online self-assessment program that looks at key areas of campus safety. Higher education officials can assess their institutions in nine areas: alcohol and other drugs, campus public safety, emergency management, hazing, mental health, missing students, physical security, sexual violence, and threat assessment.

 

Virginia Tech survivor, Kristina Anderson, founded The Koshka Foundation for Safe Schools, a nonprofit dedicated to improving campus safety, empowering student activism, and forging connections between survivors and various causes. The Koshka Foundation also partners with law enforcement, in particular campus law enforcement, and first responders to provide educational presentations on surviving an active shooter from a survivor's perspective, and best practices in incorporating lessons learned. Departments and agencies can contact the Koshka Foundation to request a presentation.

 

Additional resources on related topics can be found in our library by using search tags such as "active shooter," "active threat," and "threat assessment." 

Professional Development Opportunities

 

Title: Academic Perspective on Increasing Engagement with Faith-Based Organizations in Disaster Preparedness

Organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency

Date: April 12, 2017 at 2:00PM ET

Location: Online

Fee: Free       

Information and Registration

 

Title: Law Enforcement Active Shooter Emergency Response (PER-275)

Organization: National Center for Biomedical Research and Training

Dates: May 9-10, 2017

Location: Jonesboro, AR

Fee: Free

Information and Registration

 

Title: Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies Online Training Portal

Organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration

Date: On-demand Training

Location: Online

Fee: Free

Information and Registration