21CP works with educational institutions across the country to tackle the challenges of delivering safe, effective, just, and constitutional public safety services.
From Harvard University and Yale University to the University of Oregon and Long Beach City College, 21CP has worked with a variety of institutions to enhance campus safety and well-being. 21CP understands that colleges, universities, and other educational institutions have distinct needs – and opportunities – when it comes to making their students, faculty, and staff feel safe, welcome, and included. 21CP understands that the needs of institutions of higher learning are different than municipal communities or police departments – and that new approaches to safety are required to meet the changing needs of college communities.
21CP can help colleges and universities by:
Conducting comprehensive assessments of campus police departments and safety. 21CP has performed numerous evaluations of campus police departments and safety organizations – making actionable recommendations for community-informed steps that institutions can make to drive enhanced safety and a greater sense of community well-being.
Engaging in community and public safety service climate assessments. All 21CP projects seek to be substantially informed by the specific experiences, histories, views, values, and ideas for the future of the particular communities where we work. 21CP has conducted in-depth climate assessments of both campus communities when it comes to safety, well-being, and policing and campus police departments with respect to internal operations and culture.
Assisting and promoting campus-driven safety efforts. 21CP has assisted campus-based safety projects and police reform efforts, providing technical expertise and advice to help groups of campus leaders, faculty, students, staff, alumni, and members of communities near to campuses make improvements to public safety services.
Generating frameworks for campuses to provide dynamic, integrated safety services. Many colleges and universities maintain substantial resources for students, faculty, and staff beyond campus safety or security officers that nonetheless relate to community safety and well-being. 21CP can generate frameworks for universities and their safety organizations for better integrating campus resources and offices into a dynamic safety system.
Performing community and service-focused campus safety staffing studies. Many campus police departments and leaders need assistance in understanding how the optimal number of safety personnel, of varying types, on their campuses. 21CP can analyze campus needs and current personnel levels to determine future needs.
Providing strategic public safety counsel to university and public safety leaders. 21CP provides advice, counsel, and technical assistance to university and campus police leaders – whether on how to address new or urgent challenges, the mechanics of implementing new safety approaches, responding to a critical incident, or day-to-day administrative challenges.
Examples of our Work
Harvard University. Harvard University engaged 21CP to undertake an independent review of the Harvard’s approach to providing for public safety and community well-being on campus. After a process of community stakeholder engagement, 21CP formulated a set of pragmatic actionable recommendations for how the University might comprehensively re-imagine public safety and provide for community well-being in fundamentally different ways. The University continues to engage 21CP as it works to implement the recommendations.
Yale University. Yale University engaged 21CP to conduct a top-to-bottom assessment of its public safety department’s practices and procedures in the wake of a controversial officer-involved shooting. 21CP assessed the department’s use of resources, staffing, deployment of technology, management structure, training, policies, and internal procedures. A significant part of 21CP’s was convening with community stakeholders to address issues and explore solutions.
University of Southern California (USC). 21CP assisted USC’s 19-member Community Advisory Board, which the University’s President charged with making specific recommendations on policing and public safety on campus. 21CP provided support to the Board’s operations and processes, counsel on subject-matter areas relating to safety and community well-being, and assistance with the operational implementation of various proposed reforms and new initiatives.
University of Oregon. The University asked 21CP to review and make recommendations regarding options of improved mental health responses on campus; possibilities for re-imagining public safety that invest in non-police response resources; and potential structures of a new police accountability process. 21CP generated a report to the University on proposed recommendations that included a climate analysis of community sentiments and views on safety on campus.
Long Beach City College. 21CP conducted an in-depth analysis of community safety and well-being at Long Beach City College, which serves over 34,000 students, 1,100 faculty, and 600 classified staff across two campuses in Southern California. 21CP analyzed the College’s public safety system and made a number of specific recommendations for engaging the community and building partnerships, deploying campus safety personnel, providing care and response for individuals experiencing mental and behavioral health challenges, enhancing physical security on campus, and fostering transparency and accountability.
Drexel University. Drexel University tasked 21CP with conducting a comprehensive evaluation of its police department and provision of public safety services. 21CP is conducting a large-scale community focus group and engagement effort and will be crafting a set of specific recommendations for the University and its police department.
University of Michigan. The University’s Department of Public Safety and Security engaged 21CP to assist it in operationalizing and implementing recommendations from its community relating to the transparency and availability of public safety data; the recruitment, selection, hiring, and retention of campus police officers; and enhancing the Department’s community engagement functions and capacities. 21CP assisted in the formation of specific, actionable recommendations.