Building a safe and welcoming community
As Concordia’s campuses welcomed students for the 2024–25 academic year, Campus Safety and Prevention Services (CSPS) worked tirelessly to ensure that campus spaces remained safe, welcoming, and supportive for students, faculty, and staff.
Through proactive planning, enhanced training, and community-focused initiatives, CSPS stayed grounded in its mission of delivering people-centered services and experiences that enable the university community to explore, grow, and thrive.
“Safety is a key foundation for learning,” says Darren Dumoulin, director of Campus Safety and Prevention Services (CSPS). “Our teams work every day to ensure that students, faculty, and staff can engage fully with campus life, knowing we’re here to support them. Feeling safe isn’t optional. It's what lets our community focus on learning, research and innovation without distraction.”
Meeting the moment with compassion
Over the course of the academic year, CSPS continued to evolve as a community-oriented unit, prioritizing thoughtful engagement, visibility and partnership.
The year unfolded against a backdrop of broader societal issues that influenced campus dynamics and added complexity to Concordia’s urban environment. Amid these pressures, CSPS focused on balancing safety with respect, support, and approachability, helping sustain an environment where Concordia’s academic mission is advanced by faculty and staff and experienced by students in their learning and everyday campus life.
“It’s a delicate balance,” Dumoulin explains. “We have to help maintain a safe environment while also respecting the right to peaceful expression. Our approach is always to engage proactively and to communicate clearly within the framework of the university policies that allow our campus community to function respectfully. But we also want to create an environment where people feel heard, seen, and welcome.”
Throughout the year, the team continued to strengthen their skills by completing training in crisis response and behavioural assessment, helping ensure that interactions across campus were handled thoughtfully, professionally, and with care.
“We’re constantly equipping our team with the skills they need to respond effectively and with compassion.”
Initiatives that enhance everyday safety
CSPS introduced a number of enhancements designed to support daily campus life in visible, practical and approachable ways. This included strengthening building oversight, increased visibility to provide assistance and reassurance, and expanded planning efforts to support smooth operations during busy periods and major events.
Ongoing conversations with student groups, university partners and colleagues at other institutions also helped CSPS stay attuned to the campus climate, upcoming activities and community concerns with the goal of fostering open communication and collaboration.
“The improvements we make aren’t always visible,” says Dumoulin. “Most of our work happens behind the scenes. But every improvement we make is about helping our community go about their day with confidence, whether they’re attending a career fair, a lecture, or just enjoying campus life.”
A key example of this approach is the launch of the Student Safety Patrol program. This new initiative enables students to volunteer as patrollers, promote SafeWalk services and play an active role in building a culture of shared responsibility for campus wellbeing.
“We want our community to feel empowered, not just protected,” says Dumoulin. “Safety is something we build together. When we get students involved, it strengthens the sense of care and connection throughout the community.”
Building goodwill and community trust
Community engagement remained central to CSPS’s work throughout the year. A partnership with la Société de développement social brought social workers to campus twice daily to provide support for individuals in vulnerable situations and strengthen the university’s connection to the surrounding neighbourhood.
“Our campuses are part of a wider urban community,” explains Dumoulin. “These partnerships allow us to be a consistent and compassionate presence both on and off campus.”
Day to day, CSPS staff also supported the university community in quieter but meaningful ways. From Newton, the CSPS therapy dog’s presence on campus, assisting at large events to helping students navigate campus, reuniting lost items with their owners and connecting students to the resources they need.
As a unit, the team also gave back to the community through their annual donation to the Concordia University Parent Centre (CUSP) and by redistributing long-unclaimed lost-and-found items, such as winter clothing, to local community organizations and shelters.
“We see our role as going beyond prevention,” Dumoulin reflects. “It’s about building trust, leading with compassion and creating an environment where everyone at Concordia feels they belong and can thrive.”
For Dumoulin, every patrol, every partnership and every interaction contributes to the Concordia mission.
“When our campuses feel safe and welcoming, people can focus on learning, discovery and growth which is how CSPS supports the success of the Concordia community.”
