In 2016, a monstrous wildfire swept down from a remote location outside of Fort McMurray, Alberta, incinerating 2,400 homes and forcing 88,000 residents to evacuate. Following established emergency protocols, local, provincial, and federal authorities cooperated to save lives: that’s an example of public safety management. At the same time, thousands of kilometres to the south the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) implemented new pre-clearance initiatives on the US/Canada border, and adapted to screen thousands of unexpected refugees: that’s another example of public safety management too. Across Canada, police analyze crime statistics to anticipate threats (public safety management); meteorological experts inform fire departments of weather-related risks (public safety management); and intelligence services brief the Prime Minister’s Office on the latest developments (you guessed it: these are all examples of public safety management). Wilfrid Laurier University is a leader in developing the necessary competencies for the next generation of leaders in these fields, and with the public safety courses available online, Laurier is able to provide public safety leaders across Canada highly reputable and relevant education.
Thanks to leaders like the students of Laurier’s online master’s degree, Canada remains one of the world’s safest nations. Let’s take a look at what public safety management actually entails.
Public Safety Management as a Distinct Discipline
If you want to be a firefighter you do firefighter training. If you want to be a police officer, you train as a police officer. This training is specific, tactical, and in-depth. However, public safety management involves tactical, strategic, and critical thinking across teams and organizations.
Public safety management is a skill set that can be brought to any profession with a focus on security and threat prevention. While some of its lessons apply to front line roles, it’s really more about high-level, strategic thinking that happens at the administrative level. You have to be able to take research and statistics and understand their real world applications. Policy-making, planning, budgeting, and other administrative tasks are not as overtly heroic as rushing into a burning house to save a family, but good policy is how authorities ensure that there are firefighters in the right position to be heroes—and that there are fewer fires that put their lives at risk.
You can substitute the fire in the example above for acts of terror; natural disasters; street crime; and many others. Graduates who’ve taken Laurier’s public safety courses online have become or already are leaders in fields as varied as:
- Law Enforcement
- Fire
- Border Services
- Corrections
- Intelligence
- Corporate Security
Public Safety Courses Online
The curriculum of Laurier’s online Public Safety Master’s program provides everything you need to become a leader in the field. Aligned with the directives of Public Safety Canada, Canada’s coordinating national security agency, the courses ensure that what you learn here is directly applicable to creating upward mobility. You’ll reinforce core principles, like leadership and ethics; public safety management techniques; intelligence work and analytics; and research methods. In addition, you’ll be able to choose from one of four specializations:
- Border Strategies
- Countering Crime
- Emergency Management
- National Security
The online program makes it easy to learn wherever you may be based, and according to whatever schedule best suits you. Now’s the time to take your skills, experience, and passion to the next level with a top-flight education.
Read Can Surveillance Increase Public Safety? and What Today’s Earthquake in Alaska Can Teach Us About Preparing for Disaster