NCJ Number
226239
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 76 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 28,30-36,39,40,43
Date Published
February 2009
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This article highlights some of the efforts the Los Angeles, CA, Police Department (LAPD) has undertaken to achieve a high level of convergence in working to prevent terrorist activities on United States soil.
Abstract
United States local law enforcement agencies have come a long way in terms of adapting to the increasingly complex threats of today’s world. The theme of convergence illustrates the coupling of local resources, namely police, with the ability to recognize ordinary crimes that terrorists have been known to commit in preparation for their operational attack: committing traffic violations, obtaining false identification papers, smuggling, human trafficking, counterfeiting, committing piracy, drug trafficking, or participating in any other criminal enterprise that intersects with terrorists’ needs. It has been the LAPD’s goal to institutionalize the idea of counterterrorism efforts throughout the department and the communities it serves. Converging community policing and counterterrorism strategies and implementing them under the philosophy of intelligence-led policing will focus law enforcement efforts and better equip agencies to partner with communities to make the United States safe. With modern-day criminals proving to be transnational in reach, highly adaptive, and linked to sophisticated networks, local police agencies, like the LAPD, are developing strategies that are equally adaptive and networked, with the concept of convergence translating well to policing in the context of counterterrorism. This article highlights strategies undertaken by the LAPD in achieving convergence with the intended result to prevent terrorist activities. 5 notes