This is an article by Robert Leverone, an Article Out Loud from Domestic Preparedness, June 18, 2025.
Modern disasters highlight the critical need for effective crowd control and management, especially when people are deprived of essential resources. The role of specialized law enforcement units in managing crowds is vital to ensuring that disaster response efforts can reach and assist victims efficiently and peacefully.
Learn how vital it is to include these units in emergency plans.
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Robert Leverone
Robert Leverone, M.A., retired as a lieutenant from the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) after 31 years of service. He was the commander of the MSP’s Special Emergency Response Team, an arm of the agency tasked with crowd control and homeland security-related missions. Robert holds a B.S. in business administration from Northeastern University, an M.S. in criminal justice from Westfield State University, and an M.A. in security studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, where he authored his thesis Crowds as Complex Adaptive Systems: Strategic Implications for Law Enforcement. Robert is the owner and president of Crowd Operations Dynamix Inc., specializing in training and consulting for law enforcement and private industry organizations in crowd management and control issues.
