WIU Professor Dean Alexander to train new Illinois police chiefs

Dean Alexander Security's Editorial Advisory Board member to present training to police chiefs on terrorism

Security's own Editorial Advisory Board member Dean Alexander will be a part of a training program for more than 60 new incoming Illinois police chiefs through the Illinois Law Enforcement Training and Standards Board Executive Institute. Alexander is a Western Illinois University School of Law Enforcement professor, director of the WIU Homeland Security Research Program, and author of multiple books on terrorism.

Alexander will present on anti-government movements and extremists, traditional hate groups and hate-based extremist groups and movements, foreign-aligned ideologies, religiously-motivated extremists/terrorists, fringe movements, single-issue extremists and other politically-aligned extremists.

"As part of this training presentation, I will be differentiating between response activities internal to the police department, as well as efforts (both cooperative and counterterror in nature) that can be centered on the public," Alexander stated.

Alexander is also currently researching the Q'Anon movement, a topic he has been following for several years. He has taught about this group in his classes, and notes that this movement is gaining momentum around the globe.

In Spring 2019, Alexander published his fourth book, "Family Terror Networks," that addresses the phenomenon of family-linked terrorism (e.g., ISIS families, the Boston Marathon bombers and the San Bernardino terrorists) and its implications, and provides insight into detecting and undermining this increasingly prominent feature of extremism globally.

Alexander has published three other books on terrorism, including: "The Islamic State: Combating the Caliphate Without Borders," "Business Confronts Terrorism," and "Terrorism and Business." He has trained law enforcement and military personnel in the United States and abroad on terrorism and counterterrorism issues at NATO's Center of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism (Turkey), Illinois Statewide Terrorism and Intelligence Center and Oregon Fusion Center. His insights on terrorism have been featured in domestic and international media, among them: the "Washington Post," "Voice of America," "Tribune de Genève," and "NHK."

Congratulations Dean!

In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, organizations face an ever-growing array of disruptive events, security threats and risks. Traditional reactive approaches to security intelligence often leave businesses vulnerable and ill-prepared to anticipate and mitigate emerging threats that could impact the safety of their people, facilities or operations.

ON DEMAND: Apple Mac computer use is growing in the corporate space. Having the solutions and the knowledge base to respond to events that include Mac computers is just as important as their Windows counterparts.