(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that in an effort to protect Connecticut from a growing rise of dangerous antisemitic incidents that have impacted college campuses across the country in the wake of the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, he is organizing a meeting of security officials representing public and private higher education institutions from across the state to discuss and evaluate methods to prevent incidents of hate on campuses in Connecticut.
The governor is directing the leadership of the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection (DESPP) to conduct the meeting. The Lamont administration is reaching out to campus security officials from every higher education institution in the state and asking them to participate.
“We have zero tolerance for acts of antisemitism, Islamophobia, or hatred of any kind in Connecticut, and we will deploy all available public safety resources to keep our residents safe,” Governor Lamont said. “The nationwide increase in incidents of hatred on college campuses is greatly disturbing and can infect anywhere. I am calling on all our higher education institutions to work together and strategize on how we can protect everyone on every campus from harm. We will not allow incidents of hate and intimidation to become normalized.”
DESPP has remained in close contact with officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Department of Justice to monitor the threat environment and share information about available resources with local law enforcement and higher education officials.
“Given the increasing complexity and diverse social fabric of colleges and universities, campus police leaders must understand and prepare for a wide range of threats facing our campuses,” Ronnell A. Higgins, associate vice president for public safety and community engagement at Yale University and incoming commissioner of DESPP, said. “Our campuses must remain safe for all students, faculty, staff, and visitors to live, work, study, and visit. I look forward to co-convening campus safety leaders with Deputy Commissioner Bergeron.”
“At this time of heightened tensions at colleges and universities across the country, it is critical that higher education public safety leaders continue to collaborate and enhance communications, not only with students, staff, and administrators, but also with our public safety partners at the federal, state, and local levels,” Brenda Bergeron, deputy commissioner of DESPP and head of the Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, said. “This important meeting will help to enhance the security posture at college campuses across our state.”
Since the terror attacks on Israel, the Anti-Defamation League has recorded a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents nationwide year-over-year.
To report a hate crime, contact local police or call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Tips can also be submitted online to the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or to the Hate Crimes Investigative Unit of the Connecticut State Police by emailing hate.crimes@ct.gov. If there are any imminent threats, call 9-1-1.