Reposted from EMR-ISAC

The 2023–2024 academic year was a challenging one for academic, administrative, and law enforcement leaders charged with keeping our college and university campuses safe. Demonstrations on campuses occurred at a level not seen in decades. Campus law enforcement and public safety personnel were tasked with protecting access to public spaces, separating protesters and counter protesters to avert violence, or both. The Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) Community Relations Service (CRS) recently released Navigating Conflicts: A Guide for Campus Leaders and Public Safety Personnel. This Guide was developed by CRS, in collaboration with the Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) and The Ohio State University’s Divided Community Project. The Guide is published not as an analysis of past conflict on campus or an assessment of leadership response but as a framework to help campus leaders and public safety professionals conceptualize conflict and inform decision-making when it does occur. The publication includes:

• Explanations of the critical topics of awareness, communication, support, and coordination.
• A toolkit for rapid response to campus conflict.
• An interactive simulation, “Nexera University.” 
• The CRS and the Divided Community Project are available to college and university communities to provide assistance with any of these resources—including helping facilitate the interactive simulation in person, virtually, or in a hybrid format. 

See Original Post