Building community connections
Concordia’s Campus Safety and Prevention Services (CSPS) bolstered its campus and community relationships through a number of new outreach efforts in 2023-24.
It also expanded its personnel training offerings and initiated an important partnership with a community organization dedicated to psychosocial support for unhoused people in downtown Montreal.
“I would like to thank the entire CSPS team for their devotion and hard work over the last year,” says Darren Dumoulin, director of CSPS. “Everyone stepped up and many went above and beyond to keep our institution safe.”
Expansive personnel training
As part of CSPS’s ongoing approach to keeping Concordia’s campuses safe and addressing current needs and realities, they have expanded training for their personnel. Agents now receive twice as much training as they did before — 80 hours in total.
The unit also teamed up with subject-matter experts from across the university, including representatives from the Equity Office, the Centre for Gender Advocacy, Indigenous Directions and the Sexual Assault Resource Centre.
“We’ve brought them all into our training to better equip our staff to serve a diverse university community,” Dumoulin shares.
Other training introduced in 2023-24 included assessing for risk of violence through a structured interview process. This training was developed specifically for the university environment and has provided CSPS with an important tool to systematically assess the likelihood of violence when investigating an incident.
New partnership with Action Médiation
The location of Concordia’s Sir George Williams Campus in downtown Montreal means that some of the city’s vulnerable population seek refuge on or near university grounds. To help the agents navigate interactions with this vulnerable population, CSPS invested in a new partnership with the organization Action Médiation.
Its psychosocial intervention program provides trained social workers on the ground to offer accompaniment and resource referrals to those who need it. The Action Médiation team visits campus twice a day and are also on-hand when agents reach out for help de-escalating in a moment of crisis.
Dumoulin says the partnership has been positive so far and complements the work his agents are already doing to understand the realities of these vulnerable individuals with whom they interact on or around campus.
“In most cases, we’re able to resolve issues quickly, and that’s because of the relationships and trust that’s been built.”
Campus outreach
Members of the CSPS team staffed outreach tables several times throughout the year to engage with students. In addition to offering cookies, coffee and a break from exam stress, it was a chance to build links between agents and the campus population.
“We are creating these opportunities to build some trust with students and demonstrate that we’re approachable. I’m satisfied with how it went, and we will continue to do more of it,” Dumoulin says.
These outreach events enabled CSPS agents to connect with students on issues that matter to them, such as theft prevention. Dumoulin believes it’s the safety concern that affects students most on campus — and it is highly preventable. In the past year, agents did 225 patrols of Concordia libraries, for example, and found 980 personal belongings left unattended. The outreach tables were a chance to drive home the importance of remaining vigilant when it comes to safeguarding personal belongings.
The CSPS team also gave back to the community through an internally raised donation of $1,885 to the Concordia University Student Parents Centre, which is the second time they’ve supported this vital campus resource.
All eyes on Newton, the therapy dog
Newton the Portuguese water dog joined the Concordia community — and the CSPS team — last August 2023. He’s a specially trained therapy dog who walks alongside agents and is meant to help reduce stress and anxiety for students, faculty and staff. Whether providing support during exam periods or cheering up a homesick student, Newton is a great source of comfort to everyone he meets, says Dumoulin, who cares for the dog when he’s not on the job.
It didn’t take long for Newton to become a star on and off campus. His Instagram profile boasts more than 2,000 followers and he has been featured in interviews on Nuovo, CTV, CBC, CJAD, the Montreal Gazette and La Presse.
In addition to being therapeutic in one-on-one encounters, Newton also encourages interaction and creates opportunities for students to connect with each other.
“People are drawn to him. They’ll sit in circles around him on the floor. And sure, they’re focused on Newton, but then it initiates conversations amongst them, because they start talking about their pet at home and where they’re from and what they’re doing,” Dumoulin notes.
“So, you can see that it triggers those conversations, that connection, not just between Newton and the students, but between the students who are there around him.”
He’s a good example of how CSPS is committed to campus safety and the overall well-being of community members. Agents who are working and relationship-building on the ground find opportunities to improve the lives of Concordians through actions that can extend beyond their technical and operational mandate.
