NCJ Number
212590
Journal
Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society Volume: 18 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2005 Pages: 335-346
Date Published
December 2005
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This article presents the argument that common strategies from community policing programs can be adapted to terrorism prevention efforts.
Abstract
Terrorist attacks on the United States have served to shift the focus of law enforcement agencies toward terrorism prevention. The author contends that as agencies scramble to meet the new terrorism prevention imperatives, it would be more efficient to adapt current community policing strategies to fit terrorism prevention needs than to create entirely new strategies. The basic practices of community policing are examined as well as the Federal, State, and local initiatives that have bolstered the community policing initiative. The basic principles of community policing are compared to the role of the police in the prevention of terrorism as the author illustrates the parallels between community policing strategies and terrorism prevention goals. Lessons learned from the community policing research literature are enumerated and the author discusses how these lessons can inform terrorism prevention planning, particularly in terms of Federal funding requirements, the role of the community, and the importance of multi-jurisdictional task forces. In closing the author warns that one of the main lessons of community policing is that a positive relationship between the police and the public is paramount to preventing crime. Unfortunately, the response of the police in terms of terrorism prevention has been to become more militaristic, which could seriously impede prevention efforts. References