Queen’s has initiated an external review of its Campus Security and Emergency Services to understand and expand the unit’s expertise and capacity to respond to all issues that have implications for equity, diversity, inclusion, and Indigeneity (EDII) on campus. This is in line with the university’s Declaration of Commitment to Address Systemic Racism which looks to improve the experience of all Queen’s students. 

“At Queen’s, everyone should be able to feel welcome and safe, and that is what our Campus Security and Emergency Services team strives to support every day,” says Kim Murphy, Executive Director of Risk and Safety Services. “Our work also must always rise to meet the needs of equity-deserving communities on campus and enable a consistent anti-oppressive and trauma-informed approach. This external review will help us identify any gaps in that approach and outline how we can continue to improve.”

The scope of the review will include an evaluation of formal and informal processes within the Campus Security and Emergency Services department related to the department’s response to incidents involving underrepresented and marginalized communities on campus. It will also look at the department's overall level of engagement with, and understanding of, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Indigenization in relation to the university's EDII commitments with the Declaration.

The review will be conducted by a pair of external experts, including Barbara Perry of Ontario Tech University—an expert in the area of campus hate crimes and social justice—and Irfan Chaudhry, the Director of MacEwan University’s Office of Human Rights, Diversity, and Equity, who has worked with law enforcement agencies and community advisory groups to advance EDII.

Reviewers will meet with a number of campus stakeholders, including senior administrators, EDII-focused departments and services, as well as a broad range of student government and equity-seeking groups.

The initiative is set to run from April through July 2021, after which reviewers will issue a report that includes recommendations for policy, protocol, training, and procedural improvements.

Learn more on the Risk and Safety Services website.