Curriculum Design for Violent Extremism Detection and Prevention in Institutions of Higher Education

Abstract This research was conducted to create a curriculum for law enforcement and security professionals assigned to institutions of higher education on the growing phenomenon of widespread violence and terrorism. The ultimate goal is to detect and prevent future attacks on college campuses. Because of their public visibility and accessibility, along with multiple entrances and exit points, colleges and universities are high-risk targets for both foreign and domestic terrorism. They are vulnerable by their nature and design and pose a unique challenge in terrorism prevention and detection. Institutions of higher education are also prime locations for terrorists to unleash devastating attacks due to their dense populations, relatively low police presence, and an open and welcoming nature (Sulkowski & Lazarus, 2011). Current research and intelligence reveal the frightening growth of violent extremism and terrorism as a vehicle to achieve ideological and political goals. Extremists, motivated by an array of ideologies and galvanized by recent political and societal events in the United States, pose an elevated threat in 2021. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation\u27s intelligence suggests that extremists are planning an attack to cause maximum casualties. They have acknowledged that the threats and challenges today have changed and have become more complex and sophisticated than those of our past. A recent (FBI, 2021) report revealed that the threat posed by international and domestic threat actors has evolved significantly since the attacks on September 11, 2001