Collaborations in criminal justice and emergency management have been proven to be a force multiplier, especially when the partnerships are with fields that espouse an evidence-based approach. Typically, the fields tapped for collaborations are social services, animal welfare, non-profit advocacies, and health providers. One promising sector that can help law enforcement and first responders that can be leveraged further however is academic institutions. This webinar explores opportunities and considerations when collaborating with the academe.

This session’s panel of speakers are:

• John T. Schultz, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice position at Fairmont State University in West Virginia
• Elizabeth A. Dunn, MPH, CPH, Instructor at the University of South Florida (USF) College of Public Health
• Rebecca Morgenstern Brenner, MPA, Senior Lecturer at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, Cornell University

Specifics of the discussion include:

• The FEMA special interest groups (SIG) and its role in building a collaborative approach between academics and emergency management practitioners.
• The different types of opportunities and engagement available for collaboration between law enforcement and academic institutions through operational initiatives, policies, and programs.
• Specific real-world examples of how service-learning projects, community service, civic service, internships, simulations, training, exercises, and relationship-building efforts aimed at academe-practitioner partnerships are implemented.
• Factors to consider when undertaking such partnerships and how to manage these in terms of:
  • Balancing expectations in terms of the agency’s capacity in working with the students and communicating the student’s expectations from the project through an agreement.
  • Project timelines and adherence to the academic calendar which may pose limits into their immersion in the project.
  • Identifying a study area or existing issue where the collaborative initiative can provide efficiencies or solutions to and sample frameworks to utilize in this process.
• Questions and challenges to figure out when working with students particularly as it relates to expectations from the students, urgency of deliverables and deadlines, and bridging communication knowing that they have other facets of student life that they must attend to.
• The benefits of effective collaborations between academic institutions and law enforcement/public safety agencies.
• A rundown of the different services that academic institutions can provide to enhance practice.
• Case examples were provided to demonstrate the different creative ways that a practitioner-academe partnership can be utilized and maximized in different areas of emergency management, criminal justice, and the public sector.

Questions raised by webinar participants are on:

• Managing these academic collaborations despite staffing issues.
• Liabilities and legal concerns that may cause delays in agreements.

Other Webinars with These Presenters

• June 8: Extreme Weather Events: What Criminal Justice Professionals Need to Know
• Dec 7: Town and Gown: Partnering with Academic Organizations to Leverage Additional Resources (this webinar)

Click here to view and register for other upcoming Law Enforcement webinars and recordings on the JCH Platform.

Audience Comments

• “I learned important information on how to use higher educational institutions to help with research and or assistance for local LE agencies in tackling some of the major issues within my community.” — Blanca
• “Great content overall.” — Donald
• “The most valuable thing I learned was the benefits of having a Multi-disciplinary team.” — Elizabeth
• “I thought the presenter was excellent in displaying the information.” — gale
• “I love the idea of Law Enforcement working with Academic Organizations. I would like to see more on this topic, primarily from the aspect of a university’s psychology department. THAT would be interesting!” — Jamie
• “It was refreshing to hear positive comments about student interactions as my semester comes to an end.” — Pamela
• “It was great to hear the success stories of other partnerships and the scope of projects they are engaging in.” — Peter