The Hamas and Israel conflict has stirred up many different types of passions, all of which has caused colleges and universities to see a huge increase in the number of physical threats being made.
See this NBC News item: “
Federal agency that helps colleges defend against potential physical attacks is 'up to their eyeballs’ in requests for help.”
As noted in the story, there are 125 Protective Security Advisers (PSA) in the nation and there are enough of them to meet the demand.
The PSA role: “The PSA job is to visit college campuses and advise them on how to make them safer from physical attacks. But that number is not an increase from what the agency previously had on and to help schools, houses of worship and other entities considered vulnerable critical infrastructure around the country, an agency spokesperson said. The protective advisers are used not as on-site security agents but as consultants who can help colleges or other campuses, including K-12 schools, identify their physical vulnerabilities. A separate group of 100 advisers is tasked with protecting these potential targets from cyberthreats.”
Eric Holdeman is a contributing writer for Emergency Management magazine and is the former director of the King County, Wash., Office of Emergency Management.
