WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the release of Building Interdisciplinary Partnerships to Prevent Violent Extremism, which summarizes the discussions from a September 2015 forum held in Minneapolis. The forum, which was hosted in partnership with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF), the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the Saint Paul Police Department, brought together police leaders and community partners from across the country to share their recommendations for how to build successful partnerships to prevent violent extremism.

The full-day meeting was divided into four panel presentations, each given by police executives from four geographically and demographically distinct areas of the country that have been nationally recognized for their community engagement and strong interdisciplinary partnerships to prevent violent extremism. Those areas were the Minneapolis-Saint Paul-Hennepin County region; the city of Cambridge, MA; the Los Angeles metropolitan area; and Montgomery County, MD, which borders Washington, D.C.

“I extend my gratitude to the forum participants for providing valuable insight into combatting one of the country’s biggest challenges – domestic violent extremism,” said COPS Office Director Ronald Davis. “It is critical that law enforcement agencies forge strong partnerships and community relationships to help identify the signs, intervene early, and ultimately prevent violent terrorist acts.”

The report is divided into two sections and provides a summary of lessons learned and individual case studies including tangible recommendations for police agencies and their partners. To download Building Interdisciplinary Partnerships to Prevent Violent Extremism visit: http://ric-zai-inc.com/ric.php?page=detail&id=COPS-W0829.

The COPS Office, headed by Director Ronald Davis, is a federal agency responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. Since 1995, the COPS Office has invested more than $14 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to more than 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of approximately 129,000 officers and provide a variety of knowledge resource products including publications, training and technical assistance.

For additional information about the COPS Office, please visit www.cops.usdoj.gov.