Brown is working with global consulting firm Teneo for its two external security assessments following the Dec. 13 shooting, according to a Thursday Today@Brown announcement sent by Russell Carey, executive vice president for planning and policy.
According to the announcement, the reviews are set to continue throughout the semester, after which “key outcomes” will be shared with the Brown community and the public.
The first assessment is an after-action review, which will assess campus safety before, during and after the shooting. The second assessment is a comprehensive campus safety and security assessment, which will look into Brown’s security practices and infrastructure.
When University President Christina Paxson P’19 P’MD’20 first announced the security assessments Dec. 22, the external organization that would be carrying out the reviews had not yet been announced, but that the Brown Corporation, the University’s highest governing body, would be overseeing the reviews.
The two co-leads of Teneo’s review team for their work with Brown are Courtney Adante and Bill Bratton.
Adante is the president of Teneo’s security risk advisory team, and she has a master’s degree in cybersecurity risk and strategy from New York University, according to Teneo’s website.
Bratton is the executive chairman of risk advisory at Teneo, and he formerly served as commissioner of the New York and Boston Police Departments and chief of the Los Angeles Police Department.
According to NBC, when Bratton worked in the NYPD during the crack epidemic of the ’80s and ’90s, he helped shape the department’s “broken windows” policing strategy, which describes police’s zero-tolerance approach to misdemeanors. The strategy, a predecessor to “stop and frisk,” has been critiqued for targeting communities of color and contributing to mass incarceration.
Bratton and the University did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Bratton’s work for the NYPD.
In 2002, Bratton was commissioned by Brown to lead a review of Brown’s security following a rise in crime on the streets surrounding the campus. Bratton’s team produced a 44-page report suggesting that the University arm its police officers.
Gene Deisinger will also serve as special adviser to Teneo’s team at Brown, according to the announcement. Deisinger is a licensed psychologist, and he was appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice to act as a subject matter expert in their critical incident review of the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. In addition, he was the deputy chief of police and director of threat management services for the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University after the school’s 2007 mass shooting.
Teneo’s methods of “engaging with our many campus stakeholders,” will include gaining input from members of the Brown community through interviews, listening sessions and surveys, according to the announcement. The University will also continue to implement “security enhancements” as the reviews are conducted.
This is a developing story. Check back for more updates.
Jeremiah Farr is a senior staff writer covering university hall and higher education.
