In 2017, Tufts University Police Department leadership participated in an all-expenses-paid counterterrorism seminar in Israel, sponsored by the New England Chapter of the Anti-defamation League (ADL). In 2020, the Tufts student body voted on a campus-wide referendum which called upon Tufts University to "[apologize] for sending the former Tufts police chief to an intensive week-long course led by senior commanders in the Israel National Police, experts from Israel’s intelligence and security services, and the Israeli Defense Force," and to prohibit "TUPD officers from attending programs based on military strategies and/or similar international trips in the future." The referendum passed overwhelmingly, with 68% of Tufts students who cast votes on the referendum voting in support. As in 2022, however, Tufts University administration have chosen to ignore the will of the Tufts student body and have not acted on the referendum results.
For more information on policing in Massachusetts, see entry on Boston Police.
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In 2017, Kevin Maguire, who oversees the Tufts University Police Department, participated in an all-expenses-paid counterterrorism seminar in Israel, coordinated by the New England Chapter of the Anti-defamation League (ADL). A Tufts Daily article covering the trip quoted Tufts Executive Director of Public Relations Patrick Collins, who described Maguire's trip as an "opportunity for TUPD to learn how to be prepared in the event of a terror attack." Collins further stated: “The university and DPES are committed to learning how to prepare for, prevent and respond to all types of emergencies. Terror attacks in cities throughout the US, including Boston, and on college campuses, such as Ohio State University (OSU), have demonstrated the need for local and university police departments to prepare for potential terror attacks and to know how to prevent and respond to them."
The New England Chapter of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) sponsors annual all-expenses-paid delegations to Israel for high-ranking New England police, ICE, FBI, and other security officials, where these officials meet with Israeli military, police, and intelligence agencies, with whom they train and exchange tactics including surveillance, racial profiling, crowd control, and the containment of protests.
The Tufts University Police Department is listed as a full member of the Greater Boston Police Council, a "law enforcement council" (LEC) set up in the 1970s to link regional police forces and share resources for policing anti-war protests. LECs in Massachusetts have played a central role in militarizing police by organizing SWAT teams and purchasing military equipment such as Lenco Bearcats and other armored vehicles.