Submitted by Rick Green, Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection
(November 5, 2026) — DESPP’s newly created Targeted Violence Prevention initiative is working to build a statewide network to prevent violence and connect people to services who need it.
“We are seeing a new and evolving network of extremism that’s on the rise in the state of Connecticut, nationally and globally. We plan to develop a statewide network of prevention where we recognize concerning behavior of individuals moving toward a pathway to violence so we can intervene before any serious harm can occur,’’ said Kage Harrington, DESPP’s new Director of Targeted Violence Prevention.
Harrington, a National Threat Evaluation and Reporting Master Trainer with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, is a Tillman Scholar and Executive Master of Public Health candidate at the Yale School of Public Health. He served four combat deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan with the U.S. Marine Corps and is a former New Haven firefighter.
“This is about building a statewide system that connects disciplines, strengthens communities, and creates opportunities to intervene before harm occurs,’’ said Commissioner Ronnell A. Higgins. “We want to stop individuals who may be moving toward violence and recognize those who need help – before something happens.”
Last year, DESPP sponsored a national symposium that brought together targeted violence experts, school leaders, law enforcement, and Gov. Ned Lamont to discuss ways to respond to the rise in school and workplace violence across the country, as well as online nihilistic violent extremism and groups such as 764.
Harrington’s work will build a collaborative team with DESPP’s sister agencies, federal partners, schools, nonprofits, law enforcement, businesses, community groups, and mental health organizations. This includes creation of behavioral threat assessment management teams that can coordinate intervention and support.
“Our goal isn’t just to respond to threats more effectively. We want to create fewer opportunities for those threats to develop,’’ Harrington said. “We want to give school and communities better tools to recognize problems and intervene early.”
