A Letter from Leadership

Greetings from the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3).  

The Homeland Security Act of 2002, drafted in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11, 2001, provides that the primary mission of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) includes to “prevent terrorist attacks within the United States.” Like many of my colleagues at CP3, the terrible events of 9/11 ultimately brought me to terrorism prevention work in the office that largely inherited this solemn mission. This month, we in CP3 honor the lives lost and those who survived.  

The tragic event in Winder, GA, serves as a painful reminder that terrorism is not the only form of targeted violence plaguing the country, and that our approach to targeted violence prevention must work to decrease the likelihood of grievance-based violence and hate-fueled violence as well. Some of our younger colleagues at CP3 have been inspired to serve for this very reason, and so we are proud to host CISA’s School Safety Task Force to lead a conversation at our upcoming virtual Prevention Forum on the 16th of September (details below), and to observe United Against Hate Week, Sept. 21 to 27. 

DHS created CP3 to lead the Department’s efforts on targeted violence and terrorism prevention (TVTP). We recently published our “Approach to Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention,” to communicate our rationale for how CP3 strengthens our country’s ability to prevent targeted violence and terrorism nationwide through funding, education, training, evidence-based resources, increased public awareness, and strategic partnerships across every level of government, the private sector, and in local communities. Recently, I shared my personal thoughts and a description of CP3’s approach to prevention in an interview with the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point. I hope you'll take time to read the full interview in the CTC Sentinel.    

It is partnerships with prevention providers that give us confidence and convince me it is time to turn our resources and energy toward prevention, not just responding to violent actors who have decided to commit such acts. Who are TVTP providers? Prevention providers include people already doing violence prevention work in their communities, including skilled professionals who directly or indirectly work to prevent suicide, violence against children, and intimate partner violence. They include individuals who help people develop the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to achieve safe, healthy, and empowered communities where violence is not an attractive way to advance an ideology, express a bias, or address a grievance.