$1+ million commitment to estates to strengthen the Justice and Safety Institute

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Inspired by the prospect of expanding access to the university’s nationally recognized law enforcement training program and choosing to remain anonymous, a donor has made an estate commitment to establish the Penn State Justice and Safety Institute (JASI) to support. . The bequest, valued at more than $1 million, is the first major gift in JASI’s 53-year history and will play a critical role in enabling underfunded law enforcement agencies to enroll their personnel in the Criminal Justice Professional Training Program. program at Penn State.

“Because the responsibilities of law enforcement have the potential to impact communities in both subtle and far-reaching ways, the Justice and Safety Institute is truly one of the most consequential programs the University offers,” said Larry D. Terry II, vice president of Penn State Outreach. “Now, this extraordinary gift is poised to raise the institute’s national profile, but more importantly, it will open doors for a much greater number of law enforcement officers to benefit from the program’s advanced training, tools and curriculum. I am deeply grateful to the donor for taking this bold action to dramatically strengthen Penn State’s role in educating and training law enforcement professionals who will be charged with keeping communities safe.

The Justice and Safety Institute was founded in 1971 to meet the professional development needs of law enforcement and public safety professionals. Since then, hundreds of municipal, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies have relied on JASI to train thousands of law enforcement professionals, probation officers, corrections officers and emergency management personnel. With facilities at Penn State Harrisburg and the Penn State Criminal Justice Research Center in University Park, the center provides a wide range of justice-related training programs and organizational development consulting to government agencies, private companies and communities.

According to the donor, the impetus for the gift was partly a response to the fallout from the high-profile killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, which inflamed tensions between police and communities across the country. Sustained community engagement with law enforcement agencies that listen and respond to the specific concerns of constituents is imperative to rebuilding trust and building partnerships, according to the donor.

“A sense of empathy should be at the core of every police officer,” the donor said. “Being a law enforcement professional is a calling. It’s demanding. It is difficult. We sometimes see people at their worst when they are most upset. It is an enormous responsibility to deprive someone of their freedom – in some cases their life. But if we can recruit officers with a capacity for empathy, and then train them with skills in active listening, effective communication, and de-escalation techniques, they can make extremely effective contributions to safe communities. And in return, communities can and should expect high standards of empathy, professionalism, leadership, transparency and accountability – in every interaction, every time.”

The Criminal Justice Training Program contains a comprehensive management module that successively covers police supervision training, high-impact supervision, leadership and command, and police administrator development. A range of special program topics are also available, including training on effective report writing, field training, grant writing and managing police conduct. Delivery will be through a combination of in-person, virtual and hybrid learning options.