I. The Need to Prepare for Protests on Campuses
Protests on campuses are nothing new, in fact they have been with us for generations. What is different is the recent uptick in the violence we see during protests. Social changes, political changes, world events, and other trends in societal norms, beliefs, and attitudes - combined with the stress of our modern world - has created the atmosphere for violence.
In today’s world, there is an “Expected Level of Care” that every institution, business, and organization must provide to their students, staff, and visitors. We must take care in advance of any kind of event taking place on our campuses to ensure we have prepared ourselves for any eventuality that may take place. We must consider our plans, preparation, and responses to both non-violent and violent events- failure to do so can be catastrophic to life, limb, and property.
Part of the bedrock of our society is people’s right to express their concerns in private and in public, to make their voices heard on topics that affect their lives. To advocate for change, vent anger, grieve, or celebrate.
A positive demonstration or protest can have good effects on a campus. It can bring people together, clarify a point of view or help heal a wound.
When planning for a protest or demonstration, we need to understand the mindset of the participants so we can plan properly. Concerns about a positive event (one with no violence), can include many of the same things we look at for addressing a violent one; the difference can be in the consequences for NOT being prepared if the protest turns violent. Because of this contingency, we will cover both types of protests simultaneously, as it is better to be overprepared than under prepared.
Our planning for such events must cover the following considerations: Plans, Preparation, Training, Performance, Handling Problems, Responding to Danger/Violence, Securing the Location, Moving People, Addressing Injuries, and Recovery from Known and Unknown Events.
II. Pre-event Considerations
Understanding the Known Event and the Possible Unknown Event
There are things to consider before the event. First, we must breakdown the event into two categories and address each one individually:
• The Known Event - This is a protest or demonstration that we know about in advance. It may have been publicized, posters can be put up, and other notifications made to let people know about the event and get them to attend.
• The Unknown or Unexpected Event (“pop up” event) - This is a protest or demonstration that happens organically based on immediate events in the city, state, nation, or the world. These events can be based on social incidents, cultural events, violence outside of your campus, national conversations, or protests outside of your area that begin to spread across your community. Unknown, unexpected events can arise quickly.
The key to a proper response to either of these types of events is being prepared in advance.
Steps to prepare ourselves and our organizations for Known Events:
• Review the announcements - Posters, social media, newspaper articles and other sources - looking for insight into potential problems.
• Understand the event and the issues present to help you plan the response.
• Know who is coming and who is expected to come.
• Investigate previous similar events for lessons learned.
• Gather all possible intelligence.
Whether we’re considering a Known Event or an Unknown Event, we must have a process to prepare for them. The Known Event gives us some time to prepare, assess, and act before anything takes place. The Unknown Event requires the same actions on your part, but if they are not considered and planned for in advance you can be caught off guard/short-handed/ undersupplied and unprepared to properly handle the events as they unfold. This can lead to additional violence, injury, and property destruction.
Preparing for each kind of event:
• The Known Event - Based on your pre-event information and investigation, you begin to develop your plan for handling the activities, deploying your personnel, training your staff, and responding to potential problems that can arise.
• The Unknown, Unexpected pop-up Event - You must have plans, policy, training, and equipment readily accessible, to be activated the minute indications of potential trouble arise.
One of the next steps in preparation is Identifying Areas of Concern.
The concepts of preparation and planning can be overwhelming if not recognized as a priority. If seen as a priority, we can provide the time and resources needed to properly consider all possibilities, engage our teams to work together, dedicate time for training and obtaining the required supplies, equipment, technology, and assistance needed prior to any problems. This is key to properly preparing for any protest event.
The question we must ask then is how to Identify Areas of Concern. A simple and easy way to identify areas of concern is to consider the old motto of “Murphy’s Law”, which is a supposed law of nature, expressed in various popular contexts, to the effect that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. With that definition in mind, we set out to look for Areas of Concern.
What this means for us is this:
• Plan on a worst-case scenario (for non-violent and violent events)
• Consider the unexpected. Do we create barriers?
• Conduct “What if” sessions.
• Go outside of your own experience (Lessons Learned).
• Conduct a Tabletop drill.
• Better to be overprepared than underprepared.
Here are some of the Areas of Concern to address before the event:
• Security personnel- uniform and undercover
• Pre-event training- Laws, Policy, Procedure, First aid
• Pre-event route review (Bricks/ Bottles/ Weapons)
• Staging places- Incident command/ Reinforcements/ Incoming help/ First aid
• Equipment- Tech/ Cameras/ Riot gear/ Gas/ Pepper spray/ Shields
• Route with escapes for protesters
• Securing facilities along the way
• Fast response teams
• Arrests
• Damage to public property
• Shots fired/ Lone wolf/ other (Technology)
• Overcrowding in areas
• Communications
• Emergency responses to: Fire/ Explosion/ Shots fired/ Knife assault/ Other weapons.
• Outside assistance (Who, where from, Financials MOAs)
III. Mid-event Considerations
During the event itself, the first consideration is related to the people at the event.
Once an event gets started, there are considerations for response, but we must also understand the protesters and how they are reacting to the event as well.
The term “Mob Mentality” and how it affects crowds of people is well defined and has been studied for many years and in many contexts. Failure to understand this concept can lead to failure of plans, but - if understood - can help you see emerging problems and react appropriately.
Understanding Mob mentality: Anonymity, Contagion, and Suggestibility
Described by Gustav Le Bon in his book on the topic, “The Crowd”, we get a better understanding of how people might react in a crowd and what to prepare for . In it, Le Bon attempts to explain why crowds of regular people can become mobs of violent people, even if the members are not prone to violence as individuals themselves.
Le Bon broke the explanation down into three concepts that can help us: Anonymity, Contagion, and Suggestibility.
Let’s start with “Anonymity”- a loss of self. Once an individual is immersed in a crowd of like-minded people, they can lose a sense of self and lose inhibitions that might normally be present in their personalities. We tend to choose one side and see ours as the “Right” side and every other side as the “Wrong” side. We then become just a part of the larger crowd. We can lose a sense of morality and responsibility. This can build up feelings of invincibility and spur us to act out of character. History is replete with examples of this phenomenon whether in crowds or as entire nations.
The next thing Le Bon identified was what he called a “Contagion”. This is the idea or emotion of the crowd as it is perceived by each person in the group and transmitted to every other member by word or deed. It is a growing sense of group think that infects the individual. When infected by the contagion we can do irrational things that we might never consider in our own daily lives, but as the crowd contagion spreads, we can be overcome by this feeling.
The third concept Le Bon identified was what he called, “Suggestibility”. Suggestibility is usually pushed by an influential person, a group leader, spokesperson, or idealized person who is right with the cause. It is actually the influence that this person has and often wields that can move a crowd from normal people to amped up, driven people who do things as a mass, such as riot, loot, assault or burn during a protest.
With the effects of anonymity and a contagion in full effect, a crowd can be led to acts of violence by a person with influence such a protest leader, an impassioned speaker, or other leaders’ personalities.
Le Bon specified that a leader can cause the crowd to go into a kind of hypnotic state of mind where they follow the leader and the crowd for good or bad.
Understanding Crowd Dynamics and the three concepts presented by Le Bon can help us anticipate how a crowd might be moved or react during an event. We must recognize these things as they take place so we can intervene before violence erupts, if possible.
Understanding the dynamics of crowds and the mob mentality can help you identify factors that indicate increasing violence or potential for violence. If you see or hear incitement to violence, or a speaker growing bolder in their expressions of anger or calls to act out, you can anticipate the crowd responding in kind. If you are prepared, you may be able to short-cut this process.
With this information mind, here are some Areas of Concern during an event:
• Security presence/ visible/ under cover/ where?/ breaking cover
• Monitoring the crowd from a distance (Technology), Placement of reserves
• Relieving pressure- removing contagions?
• Keeping groups apart
• Route review (Tech and People)
• Response to violence - First aid/ arrest
• Hot spot build up and response (Tech and People)
• Removing inciters- process/ getting ahead of problems.
• Roving groups
The importance of Multi-Optional Responses
By recognizing these dynamics through our five senses, and having plans in place (along with well trained personnel), we may be able to eliminate or minimize the violence, injury, and damage that can result when an event turns violent.
Caveat to all plans - no matter our best efforts - we must keep in mind that even with great planning, we may lose control of a crowd at a protest. Our actions here can determine the amount of damage or injury sustained. If we monitor the crowd and decide to remove a contagion we may incite the crowd further, so timing and action is the key (how and when to act).
If we decide to shut down and event, remove a person(s) inciting violence, or move the crowds along out of particularly vulnerable areas, we must have accusable escape routes for the crowd. Panic on the part of the crowd is contagious as well. If people feel trapped or threatened, they can react very badly.
In any event if we take action we may decide or be forced to back off to prevent injury to our team. Securing and protecting the innocent becomes the priority.
Planning for the worst-case scenario can help us anticipate problems. If we have anticipated problems in advance, we can develop “Multi-Optional Responses” to the events as they unfold. The key here is good leadership, situational awareness, and the ability to adapt, combined with adequate training and resources. If the protest takes a turn for the worst, the ability to move and function is paramount. Planning and training are key.
IV. Post-Event Considerations
After a non-violent event, recovery may be easy for the entire community, but after a violent event, recovery will be much more difficult.
There is the immediate recovery after the main portion of the event has subsided, which can include moving along stragglers, removing obstacles etc.. Then there is the long-term recovery which can include dealing with injuries or deaths, damaged infrastructure, loss of trust and other personal/emotional injuries. Both kinds of recovery require advance planning, allocation of resources and identifying outlets for assistance.
Areas of concern after an event include the following:
• Immediate concerns:
o Moving protesters
o Clearing streets, walkways
o Explosive/ weapons review/ Fires
o Screening people to reenter facilities (Tech and People).
o Restoring order
o Handling triage and transportation of injured
o Dismissing assistance/ personnel issues/ staffing
o On scene debriefing
o Punchlist of tasks and timetable
• Long-term concerns:
o Mental health issues
o Physical issues
o Structural issues
o Funding
o Media response
o Community concerns
There may be emotional and physical traumas to address on your campus involving students, staff, families, and those in the communities around you. Considering these points now will help you recover from real events quicker and easier in the future.
V. Include Technology as Part of Your Planning
Just as important as your plans and training, technology can provide vital information and communications capabilities before, during and after an event. This is especially valuable for vents that turn violent.
Types of Technology to Consider
• Communications: Cell phones/ WiFi/ Internet/ Radios/ and Emergency Notification Systems.
• Environmental: People rely on tech for rooms and other areas/Air Quality Sensors/ Gun Shot Detection/ Aggression Detection
• Recovery: Weapons Detection Systems/ Building Mapping
VI. Closing Thoughts
Violence is unpredictable, but not unheard of. Saying “it will never happen here” is a recipe for disaster. Every school, organization, and business must provide an “Expected Level of Care” for anyone who enters their facilities.
Proactive preparation is our best tool to create a safe environment and enhance our ability to respond if violence erupts during protests. Because violence is always only a moment away, it is crucial to build on these concepts, train, and prepare for any contingency when planning for protests.
Thank you and always be safe!
