The Excellence in Policing and Public Safety Program (EPPS) at the Joseph F. Rice School of Law is getting global attention.
Chris Cowan, EPPS executive director, spoke at the European Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates, which took place in Skopje, North Macedonia from Sept. 20 – Sept. 24. He presented on police leadership and management for executives through the lens of EPPS’ four pillars: lawful, legitimate, effective and efficient.
The annual meeting brings in over 200 executives in the private and public sector throughout Europe who serve in senior positions in justice ministries, security services, the FBI and police services. Lectures are presented by experts from the private sector, European Union’s police agency, FBI, academia and North Macedonia Police.
“Being recognized at this scale is humbling, to be honest, but it's significant for our program and what we're trying to do at the law school: to advance the police profession and continue to create networks that bring resources to South Carolina,” Cowan says.
The conference theme “At the crossroads of change: Tackling traditional and emerging security challenges,” focuses on the analysis of security threat development, including established and emerging challenges.
“The conference allows us to learn about emerging threats across the world in areas of counterterrorism, human rights, technological innovations, leadership and management and effective policing strategies,” Cowan says.
It also allows the law school to fortify existing partnerships and establish new ones, furthering EPPS’ goals.
Christchurch University in the UK has already proven a valuable partner. EPPS is working with them on several programs. Erik van Herk is another. The Netherlands-based owner and CEO of Technics Production and Spike Stinger International co-sponsored Cowan's attendance at the annual meeting.
“Van Herk has been transparent that he’s committed to supporting the Excellence in Policing and Public Safety program’s mission, not just financially,” Cowan says,
Cowan met with van Herk and an Australian-based CEO who’s expressed interest in supporting EPPS’ initiatives, one of which is to develop a visiting fellow program for law enforcement executives that offers one-of-a-kind professional development training.
This isn’t Cowan’s first presentation at the European Chapter of the FBI National Academy Associates. In 2019, while serving as deputy chief of the Richland County Sheriff's Department, he spoke on leadership and professional development. His next presentation, at the FBI National Academy in Quantico, will be a professional development session on strategic readiness for line of duty death.
Among EPPS’ goals are to strengthen collaborative networks, secure funding for sustainable law enforcement advancement, create a visiting fellow leadership development program, advertise the MSL and Executive Credentialing program and identify emerging issues impacting law enforcement and public safety.
In a few short years, they’ve already accomplished much of what they set out to do, though to achieve them so quickly on an international scale is remarkable.
“The world is a very small place, both from a criminal enforcement sampling as well as a professional development standpoint and so if we can leverage our networks and our relationships to bring resources to South Carolina, and make our public safety professionals even better, that's one of our major purposes and goals,” Cowan says.