The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has developed a Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) and Active Shooter approach that applies to all forms of violent extremism or crimes, regardless of ideology; and that focuses not on radical thought or speech, but instead on preventing violent attacks.  The threat posed by violent extremism is neither constrained by international borders nor limited to any single ideology.  Additionally, the trends of Active Shooter individuals have grown more complex with numerous motivating factors.  Groups and individuals inspired by a range of personal, religious, political, or other ideological beliefs have promoted and used violence.

To support this initiative to counter violent extremism and prevent active shooter events, DHS is working with a broad range of government and civilian partners to gain a better understanding of the behaviors, tactics and other indicators that could point to potential violent and/or terrorist activity and the best ways to mitigate or prevent that activity. (e.g. ‘See Something, Say Something’^TM and ‘Run, Hide, Fight’)  This approach is designed to support the National Strategy on Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism and the Strategic Implementation Plan (SIP) for Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States which President Obama released in 2011.

Countering Violent Extremism and Active Shooter Portal

Within DHS’s HSIN, the joint DHS and FBI Countering Violent Extremism and Active Shooter (CVE-AS) web portals promote information and intelligence sharing on a broad range of these CVE- and Active Shooter-related topics. The CVE-AS portals provide a user-friendly environment to promote information sharing and collaboration between Federal, State, Local, Territorial, Tribal, Private, civilian, and International entities working to counter the threat of violent extremists and help prevent active shooter incidents.

The portals provide a well-organized listing of topics so users can quickly locate and access the information relevant to their interests. The CVE-AS Portals include videos and training resources, as well as a document library with intelligence, federal, academia, and other resources covering numerous CVE and Active Shooter topics. The main CVE-AS web portal shares Unclassified For Official Use Only (FOUO) information with government agencies associated with infrastructure protection of the United States, private sector partners, civilian security personnel, corporate executives, educational institutions/academia, international federal and Law Enforcement partners, community leaders and other State and Local partners, as appropriate. In additional to the main CVE-AS web portal-- sworn, full-time, Federal, State and Local law enforcement officers; federal employees affiliated with the criminal justice system or intelligence communities; and military personnel also gain access into the restricted (Fed/LE) CVE-AS web portal that provides a forum for the exchange of additional Sensitive But Unclassified (SBU) and Law Enforcement Sensitive (LES) information.  Both portals include intelligence and information products, training materials and courses, videos, outreach initiatives and guides, subject matter expert information, and forums to provide feedback, share products, and ask questions.

Educational Materials:

• CVE Educational Sheet
• Active Shooter Educational Sheet

Access to the Countering Violent Extremism and Active Shooter Portal

Persons with a job-related duty, public service interest, or who support a Countering Violent Extremism and/or Active Shooter program can request access into this Portal. Limited work-related information is needed to ensure members are provided the appropriate accesses and their work activities justify a need to know. This information is used to nominate the user into HSIN, and then the user will receive an email to validate their information into the Countering Violent Extremism-Active Shooter (CVE-AS) Web Portal from HSIN to gain access to the appropriate resources in the Portal. When the request-to-join CVE-AS icon is clicked below, an email is generated to the DHS Countering Violent Extremism-Active Shooter Program Manager at cveasportal@hq.dhs.gov.  It will ask you to provide the following information in the body of the email in order to fill out the nomination form:

1. Full Name:
2. Place of Employment:
3. Job Title:
4. Work Email Address:
5. Work Phone Number:
6. Short Job Description as it Relates to CVE or AS:

For more information from DHS, please visit the DHS public web pages at:

• Countering Violent Extremism
• Active Shooter Preparedness
• HSIN Terms of Service