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Scholarly Peer Reviewed Articles Community Policing in the Homeland Security Era

ABSTRACT: Like traditional criminal offense, terrorism is a local issue and is a responsibility shared among federal, state, and local governments. In the wake of September xi, local constabulary enforcement has taken on a pivotal role in preventing and responding to futurity incidents of terrorism within the Us. The new policing model for terrorism and homeland security must address the areas of offense prevention, intelligence gathering, and information sharing. This will require a shift in the culture of law enforcement agencies, involving the creation of external partnerships, citizen involvement, problem solving, and the transformation of the organization. Adoption of the "homeland-policing" model presented in this article suggests that the community policing model serves as a solid framework for the evolution of an effective prevention strategy for homeland security by local police enforcement agencies.

SUGGESTED CITATION:
Docobo, Jose. "Community Policing every bit the Principal Prevention Strategy for Homeland Security at the Local Law Enforcement Level." Homeland Security Affairs ane, Article 4 (June 2005). https://www.hsaj.org/articles/183

Traditionally, local law enforcement has concerned itself primarily with preventing and solving crimes such as burglary, theft, and robbery — crimes that have an immediate and visible impact on the local community and touch citizen quality of life. In the face of unknown futurity terrorist threats, however, local law enforcement organizations volition have to adjust existing policing strategies to fulfill the requirement of homeland security.

Over the years, law enforcement organizations accept sought to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime in communities through the creation of effective partnerships with the customs and other public and individual-sector resource, the application of problem-solving strategies or tactics, and the transformation of agency organization and culture. In the wake of September xi, 2001, local police enforcement agencies throughout the country observe themselves struggling to identify their responsibilities and define their future role in the effort to combat terrorism. The new policing model for terrorism and homeland security must accost the areas of crime prevention, intelligence gathering, and data sharing. While these roles are not new to local policing, homeland security at the local level will require a shift in constabulary enforcement's part if police are to ensure the safety and welfare of citizens.

While some accept suggested that community policing can fit into the overall national strategy for homeland security, fiddling enquiry specifically identifies customs policing strategies and their directly awarding to the national strategy for homeland security. Many of the objectives of terrorism prevention parallel current police enforcement policies with respect to local crime bug. Considering of these similarities, individual, neighborhood, and community crime-prevention strategies should support law enforcement in the fight against terrorism.

Community-oriented Policing

The United States Department of Justice has defined community policing every bit a philosophy that "focuses on crime and social disorder through the commitment of police services that includes aspects of traditional law enforcement, besides as prevention, problem-solving, community appointment, and partnerships." 1 Despite varying definitions of community- oriented policing, information technology is generally agreed that there are three key components to the community policing philosophy. These include the creation of and reliance on effective partnerships with the customs and other public/private-sector resources, the application of trouble- solving strategies or tactics, and the transformation of police organization and culture to back up this philosophical shift. In other words, community policing is non in itself a tactic or strategy, but instead a philosophical arroyo to how policing is conducted. At its cadre, community-oriented policing is based on law enforcement and the community joining together to identify and address issues of crime and social disorder.

In a 2002 publication, the U.Southward. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing discussed a serial of community-oriented policing resources and practices that have a direct application to terrorism deterrence and prevention. These include the use of crime mapping with GIS systems, information drove and analysis protocols, and technologies that may be used as platforms for gathering intelligence to assess terrorism vulnerability. In addition, the community partnerships formed by police in the course of community-oriented problem solving provide a ready framework for engaging citizens in helping police force to identify possible threats and implement preparedness plans. 2

Rob Chapman and Matthew C. Scheider, senior analysts at the Function of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), propose that community policing could play an integral role in homeland security. They contend that by applying the principles of organizational change, trouble solving, and external partnerships, community policing tin can help police to prepare for and prevent terrorist acts, and respond to the fright such threats engender. iii Community policing helps to build trust between the community and police enforcement, which allows officers to develop cognition of the community and resident action and can provide vital intelligence relating to potential terrorist actions. Local constabulary enforcement tin facilitate information gathering amongst ethnic or religious customs groups with whom law accept established a relationship. Information technology will generally be citizens who observe the unusual — groups of men living in apartments or motels, or unusual behavior at flight schools — in their ain community, and could exist expected to report such observations to the local police. According to Chapman and Scheider, problem-solving models typically used in community policing are well-suited for preventing and responding to possible terrorist activity. Using existing data sources, agencies tin conduct target vulnerability assessments and develop risk-management and crisis plans. 4

Customs Partnerships

Community policing is based on the notion that citizens should be empowered to prevent crime or the problems that atomic number 82 to crime. 5 Establishing and maintaining mutual trust is therefore the central goal of community policing, as it allows broad law enforcement admission to valuable community data leading potentially to the prevention and resolution of crimes.

The partnerships formed in support of community law-breaking prevention efforts can besides provide a framework for engaging citizens to aid police identify possible terrorist threats and infrastructure vulnerabilities. Constructive community policing involves non only developing partnerships between police force enforcement and citizens, all the same, but also intergovernmental and interagency collaborations with country and federal agencies. These partnerships are essential for the collection and exchange of intelligence, the identification of threats and vulnerabilities, and the sharing of resources in the result of an attack.

Trouble Solving

Problem solving is a broad term that describes the process by which specific issues or concerns are identified and the about appropriate remedies to abate the problem(s) are identified. Problem solving is based on the supposition that "individuals make choices based on opportunities presented by the immediate physical and social characteristics of an expanse. By manipulating these factors, people will exist less inclined to human action in an offensive manner." 6 The idea is that if the underlying weather condition that create problems can be eliminated and so so will the problem. Such conditions range from the type of individuals involved to the concrete surround in which these bug are created.

Prior to the advent of community-oriented policing, trouble-oriented policing was associated with the decentralization of responsibility and with lateral advice both within and exterior the police department. Problem-oriented policing dealt with the conditions that cause a trouble; this concept of policing required officers to recognize relationships that lead to criminal offence and disorder and direct their attending to bug of causation. 7 Mark Moore asserts that thought and analysis is key to trouble-oriented policing in society to effectively respond to the cause of the problem. viii

Co-ordinate to Spelman and Eck, problem-oriented policing converged on three main themes: increased effectiveness, reliance on the expertise and creativity of officers, and closer involvement with the customs. These themes are implemented past attacking underlying phenomena that deplete patrol officers' and detectives' time, and educating officers to study issues and develop innovative solutions to ensure that police address the needs of citizens. 9

Organizational Transformation

Community policing requires an organizational transformation inside the law enforcement agency so that a gear up of bones values rather than mere procedures guide the overall delivery of services to the community. Organizational transformation involves the integration of the customs policing philosophy into the mission argument, policies and procedures, performance evaluations and hiring and promotional practices, training programs, and other systems and activities that define organizational culture and activities. x

In the community policing model, individual officers are given broader freedom to resolve concerns within their community. Individual officers are presumably the most familiar with their communities and are therefore in the best position to forge close ties with the community and create effective solutions. Community policing emphasizes employee participation; private officers are given the authority to solve issues and make operational decisions suitable to their assignments. Officers are seen as generalists, not specialists.

Adapting Customs Policing to Homeland Security

Similar traditional offense, terrorism is a local crime issue and is a responsibility shared amidst federal, country, and local governments. Indeed, traditional crime and terrorism are inextricably linked. International and domestic terrorist groups are well-organized and trained, and demonstrate the sophistication of other, traditional organized crime groups. These groups commit ancillary crimes similar fraud, coin laundering, drug trafficking, and identity theft to provide the resources for their terrorism. The investigative approach to a terrorist event is like to that of a traditional law-breaking incident. Because of the similarities between traditional crime and terrorism, departments that take already adopted a community policing philosophy should find it a seamless transition to addressing terrorism and terrorism-related crime. Officers should already have the skills to analyze the terrorism problem, perform threat analysis, develop appropriate responses and reflect these efforts in the mission, goals and objectives of the department. xi

In 2002, the Markle Foundation Task Force written report stated:

Almost of the real frontlines of homeland security are outside of Washington D.C. Likely terrorists are often encountered, and the targets they might attack are protected, past local officials — a cop hearing a complaint from a landlord, an airdrome official who hears nigh a aeroplane some pilot trainee left on the rails, an FBI agent puzzled by an odd flight schoolhouse student in Arizona, or an emergency room resident trying to treat patients stricken by an unusual disease. 12

In a more recent report, the Rockefeller Institute observed that "while much attending has been focused on the national regime'due south efforts to address these [Homeland Security] problems, there has been less consideration of the role of state and local governments, which play a critical function in preventing and responding to terrorist attack." 13 In the wake of September eleven, 2001, however, local law enforcement has taken on a pivotal role in preventing and responding to time to come incidents of terrorism inside the U.s.a.. This new function, like the adoption of community policing, will require yet some other shift in the culture of law enforcement agencies.

Facilitating this shift, however, is the fact that community policing and homeland security have a groovy deal in mutual. Both neighborhood criminal offence and terrorism threaten the quality of life in a community and exploit the fear they create. Despite creative ways to stretch public safety budgets, local law enforcement cannot sustain ii separate missions of traditional policing and terrorism prevention. Community policing and homeland security can share the same goals and strategies. Creating external partnerships, citizen involvement, problem solving, and transforming the organisation to take on a new mission are all fundamental elements of community policing and should be part of a comprehensive homeland security strategy. The lesson learned from fighting traditional crime is that prevention is the most effective arroyo in dealing with law-breaking, fear, and social disorder. Fighting terrorism is no different.

Organizational Transformation

The task of a wholesale re-engineering of American local law enforcement toward a counter-terrorism part is circuitous and unprecedented. If U.S. law enforcement is to motion forwards to a national office in homeland security, so practical, focused, and effective training must be a cornerstone of this transformation. Without appropriate and ongoing training of both current and new police force enforcement personnel, homeland security will exist dismissed equally a passing concept instead of a cultural alter in police force enforcement strategy.

In that location are a number of customs policing practices that tin can back up efforts in homeland security. These practices include adopting the philosophy organization-wide, decentralizing decision-making and accountability, fixing geographic and general responsibilities and utilizing volunteer resources. Local constabulary enforcement officers are most probable to come up into contact with individuals who are either straight or indirectly involved in terrorist activities and are certain to be the outset responders to any attack.

Empowering officers at lower levels with greater controlling authority and responsibility for of import decisions could be valuable in a crisis. During a terrorist event, there may be trivial time for decisions to movement up the concatenation of control. Officers who are accustomed to making decisions and retaining authorization may be better prepared to respond quickly and decisively to any consequence.

In terms of prevention, developing a flat organizational structure can aid lower-level officers feel gratuitous to pursue leads regarding possible terrorist activity. In addition, officers who work in a stock-still geographic area for an extended menstruum are more probable to develop specific intelligence that may be a vital part of counter-terrorism efforts. 14

System-broad Adoption

Homeland Security, like community policing, must be adopted bureau-wide to realize its total potential and effectiveness. Integrating the homeland security responsibility into the agency's mission argument, goals, policies and procedures, preparation programs, and other systems and activities that ascertain organizational civilisation, should reflect this adoption.

Preparation

Local agencies will demand to aggrandize beyond the rudimentary aspects of constabulary enforcement preparation such every bit firearms, driving, unarmed defence force and criminal law into ane that emphasizes an analytical preventative arroyo. While law enforcement must continue to railroad train for their roles as first responders in mail service-incident management and investigation, police must receive training and education in:

  • Understanding the nature, dynamics, and operations of international terrorist groups that may operate in or against the United States, and how that translates into more effective patrol and investigative functions;
  • Understanding the locations, movements, and plans of international terrorist cells that live and work in local communities;
  • Gathering and analyzing intelligence on potential terrorist activities;
  • Conducting threat assessments;
  • Conducting inquiries and investigations into potential terrorists while safeguarding the ramble rights of all people in the U.s..

Most local law enforcement officers have never been in the intelligence business and therefore may not know precisely what information they should wait at equally indicative of terrorist activity or that may take value within a larger intelligence context. These signs are not necessarily obvious, but rather subtle, and would be discernible to a regular patrol officer or detective with proper grooming. Officers or detectives may have valuable information without even knowing it and may not know to share the data because they take never had acceptable terrorism intelligence training.

Another expanse of preparation that constabulary enforcement must commit to is public pedagogy. Although the majority of communities will never be impacted past a terrorist result, the threat of potential terrorist attacks tin can create fear and undermine the sense of customs safety. Information technology will therefore be disquisitional that police take a leadership function in maintaining community confidence. This can be done by educating the public every bit to the nature of threats and actively responding to specific community concerns. For the public to respond to an alarm, information technology needs to know what to watch for. Educating the public also garners support for authorities action in a crisis. Moreover, citizens educated well-nigh potential threats tin assist law enforcement during alerts. The public would know what to expect for, what to do, and how to respond. 15

Decentralized Controlling and Accountability

In community policing, individual line officers are given say-so to solve problems and brand operational decisions. Leadership is required and rewarded at every level; supervisors and officers are held accountable for decisions and the furnishings of their efforts at solving problems. Empowering officers at the lower levels will allow them the freedom to pursue leads or suspected terrorist action, or to identify possible terrorist vulnerabilities within the community.

Fixed Geographic Accountability and Generalist Responsibilities

In community policing, most staffing, supervision, deployment, and tactical determination-making are geographically based. Personnel are assigned to fixed geographic areas for extended periods of fourth dimension in order to foster advice and partnerships between individual officers and their community. Having stock-still-geographic responsibility allows officers to develop more productive relationships with members of their community and, as a result, officers should be more than attuned to rising levels of customs business and fright. By virtue of these relationships, officers should be in a position to respond finer to those needs and concerns. Customs policing engenders trust and increases satisfaction among community members and police, which in periods of heightened unrest or crunch can translate to dealing more effectively with customs fright. 16

Utilizing Volunteer Resources

Later the events of September 11, 2001, the idea of involving citizens in crime prevention has taken on new significance, with President Bush calling for greater citizen involvement in homeland security through initiatives such as Citizen Corps and Freedom Corps. 17 President Bush created these programs so Americans could participate directly in homeland security efforts in their own communities. This network of volunteer efforts uses the foundations already established past law enforcement in order to gear up local communities to respond effectively to the threats of terrorism and crime. In add-on to creating the Citizens Corps and Freedom Corps, the president's plan is to enhance community-policing programs already in place, such as Neighborhood Lookout man, by incorporating terrorism prevention into its mission.

Community policing encourages the use of not-law enforcement resources within a police enforcement agency such every bit volunteerism, which involves active denizen participation with their law enforcement agency. Volunteer efforts tin assist complimentary up officer time, and provide an effective channel for denizen input. It has long been recognized that many of the basic functions within a law enforcement bureau can be achieved by other than sworn deputies or civilian employees. Volunteer efforts can assistance free upwardly officeholder time, and allow sworn personnel to be more than proactive and prevention-oriented. In many jurisdictions around the country, citizens who have the time to volunteer in the customs have offered their services to constabulary enforcement agencies, freeing upwardly police force enforcement personnel to spend more time in a crime reduction role.

This customs policing chemical element dovetails perfectly with President Bush's Citizen Corps, which was developed to "harness the power of every individual through teaching, training, and volunteer service to brand communities safer, stronger, and ameliorate prepared to answer to threats of terrorism, crime, public health issues, and disasters of all kinds." 18 At that place are 4 programs in Denizen Corps: Neighborhood Watch, Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS), Customs Emergency Response Teams (CERT), and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), all of which integrate well with the community policing philosophy. In fact, Neighborhood Lookout has been an integral component of the community policing philosophy virtually since its inception.

Neighborhood Watch

This crime prevention program, which has a 30-year history, engages volunteer citizen action to heighten security within local communities by encouraging citizens to written report suspicious activeness in their immediate neighborhoods. Citizen Corps hopes to double the number of neighborhood watch programs, while incorporating terrorism prevention into the program'south mission. In the aftermath of September xi, 2001, the demand for strengthening and securing our communities has become even more critical, and Neighborhood Lookout man groups have taken on greater significance. In addition to serving a offense prevention function, Neighborhood Watch can also be used as the basis for bringing neighborhood residents together to focus on disaster preparedness also as terrorism awareness, to focus on evacuation drills and exercises, and even to organize group training, such every bit the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training. 19

Volunteers in Constabulary Service (VIPS)

This program provides training for civilian volunteers who assist local police departments by performing "non-sworn" duties, effectively freeing upward officers to spend more fourth dimension on critical functions. Since September 11, 2001, the demands on country and local law enforcement take increased dramatically. Equally a consequence, already-limited resources are existence stretched farther at a fourth dimension when our country needs every available officer out on the beat. The programme provides resources to assist local law enforcement officials by incorporating community volunteers into the activities of the law enforcement agency and by using best practices to help state and local law enforcement design strategies to recruit, train, and utilize citizen volunteers in their departments. xx

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)

This program provides civilians with training in emergency management planning and response functions to bolster the capacity of local communities to reply to disasters. President Bush has proposed a three-fold increase, to 400,000, of the number of citizens enrolled in CERT. Since its move into Citizen Corps, the program has added a new module that addresses terrorism preparedness. When emergencies happen, CERT members tin requite critical support to start responders, provide immediate assistance to victims, and organize spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site. CERT members can also help with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. 21

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)

The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Program coordinates the skills of practicing and retired physicians, nurses, and other health professionals equally well as other citizens interested in wellness issues who are eager to volunteer to address their community's ongoing public wellness needs and to assist their community during large-scale emergency situations. Local customs leaders develop their own Medical Reserve Corps Units and place the duties of the MRC volunteers co-ordinate to specific community needs. For example, MRC volunteers may evangelize necessary public health services during a crisis, assist emergency response teams with patients, and provide care straight to those with less serious injuries and other health-related issues. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) plays an integral part in our preparedness and response strategy. It provides an organized way for medical and public health volunteers to offer their skills and expertise during local crises and throughout the year. 22

Trouble Solving Tactics Applied to Homeland Security

Through programs such equally Crime Prevention Through Ecology Pattern (CPTED), intelligence gathering, information sharing, and the use of GIS mapping and analysis, law enforcement can identify and carry security assessments of disquisitional infrastructure and other important private sector facilities. Security assessments can identify which facilities take the greatest potential every bit targets. Once identified, detailed hazard management and crisis plans can be developed and implemented. The goal of problem solving in community-oriented policing is a fundamental shift from traditional reactive policing to one that preemptively reduces a facility's vulnerability to a terrorist assault.

Criminal offence Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED)

Basic principles of CPTED include target hardening (decision-making access to neighborhoods and buildings and conducting surveillance on specific areas to reduce opportunities for offense to occur) and territorial reinforcement (increasing the sense of security in settings where people live and work through activities that encourage informal control of the environment).

Local agencies will accept to get involved in customs planning through programs like CPTED to ensure that futurity growth and construction of facilities minimizes the vulnerability to terrorist acts. The conceptual thrust of CPTED is that the concrete environment tin be manipulated by design to produce behavioral effects that will reduce the incidence and fright of criminal offense, thereby improving the quality of life. These behavioral effects tin can be achieved past reducing the propensity of the physical environment to support law-breaking. 23

Intelligence Gathering

For years, local law enforcement agencies have complained about federal agencies failing to appreciate the role of law enforcement in intelligence activities. At a time when asymmetric terrorist threats pose some of the biggest threats to our communities, however, we cannot afford not to take local police force enforcement more fully integrated into the National Homeland Security Strategy.

The challenge here will exist 2-fold. Outset, it will require a philosophical change in federal law enforcement to suspension down the barriers of compartmentalization and accept local agencies equally total partners in the national security intelligence infrastructure. Secondly, local agencies need to receive the necessary training and analytical resources. The challenge will come non in obtaining additional human resource, but in training existing personnel to recognize information or behavior of individuals or groups of possible threats, and the ability to disseminate that information with others in a manner that would allow for the intervention of any hereafter terrorist acts.

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Mapping and Analysis

Many of the innovations implemented through community-oriented policing crave a geographic focus, and emphasize the importance of integrating GIS mapping technology into problem-solving strategies. Technological advances in reckoner mapping accept propelled criminal offence mapping and analysis to the forefront of criminal offense prevention and community policing. Computerized crime mapping allows law enforcement agencies to plot crime data against a digitized map of a community, metropolis, or region. Crime-related information can then be compared and analyzed with other external data sources. 24

Customs partnerships

Since September 11th, information technology has become apparent that Homeland Security is not an attempt that tin be conducted past law enforcement alone. Instead, an effective Homeland Security strategy must include partnerships not only with other law enforcement organizations, but besides with businesses, citizens, emergency management, public health, and many other private and public organizations with a stake in terrorism prevention and response. Partnerships need to be expanded to take advantage of the many skills necessary to plan for, mobilize, and respond to terrorist acts. For homeland security, this means building trust with Arab-American and Islamic-American communities, not with empty promises just past demonstrating how law enforcement can protect them in their neighborhoods, workplaces, places of worship, and other public spaces. 25

There is often some misconception that in customs-oriented policing, "community" is divers past certain geographical boundaries. Daniel Flynn suggests that police force enforcement agencies wait beyond traditional geographical boundaries and that agencies likewise look at areas or groups with shared character or identity and those with common problems or concerns. Flynn points to ethnic, cultural, and racial communities, as well equally businesses, schools, and churches. 26 In community-oriented policing, the police are only one of the many local government organizations responsible for responding to customs problems. In community-oriented policing, other government agencies are chosen upon and recognized for their abilities to respond to crime and social disorder issues. Community-based organizations also are brought into crime prevention and trouble solving partnerships with law enforcement. Encouraging denizen interest in programs such equally neighborhood lookout man, youth instruction, and other activities with police enforcement has been found to increase social cohesion among citizens and decrease fear of crime. 27 The emphasis on building community partnerships encouraged by community-oriented policing may likewise assistance reduce citizen fear of terrorist events. 28

The prevention of terrorist activities requires not just effective communication betwixt local and state agencies and the federal government just, peradventure more importantly, with the community. By building community partnerships facilitated by customs policing, law enforcement can develop responses aimed at reducing levels of fear. While citizen fear of terrorist events is somewhat different from fearfulness of crime, some of the same techniques and programs tin can be used in its reduction. Citizen awareness campaigns can inform citizens about what law and regime are doing to set for and preclude a hereafter attack. 29

Working with the Media

In any terrorism strategy, the media will play a crucial part in defining the nature, scope, and level of threat in critical situations, in disseminating data, and in calming the population. Co-ordinate to Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Science and Technology in Countering Terrorism, one way to edgeless the "behavioral, attitudinal, and emotional responses" to terrorism is to influence the human response through an effective programme of communications. thirty

Through relationships and partnerships cultivated with reporters and producers, the local media volition look to law enforcement every bit an important partner in delivering accurate and relevant information to the public. While government cannot control how people will react to a terror attack, officials can help shape attitudes and behaviors by providing helpful information as well as seek aid in obtaining information that may be relevant in the prevention or investigation of a terrorist incident. Making information available about measures taken to prevent or defend confronting an set on volition give citizens a greater sense of command over uncertain situations and tend to lower the level of public fear. 31

Neighborhood Lookout, Business Watch and Worship Picket Programs

Neighborhood Sentinel equally a criminal offence prevention tool has been in place around the country for many years. Recognizing that the detection of criminal action is not a job law enforcement tin can practice alone, Neighborhood Scout has served equally extra optics and ears in the community to report suspicious activity or crimes to law enforcement. Every bit the detection of suspicious behavior is an integral part of homeland security, using this already established program should be office of an agency'south overall homeland security endeavor. Through the Neighborhood Watch program, law enforcement can:

  • Act as a liaison with each electric current Neighborhood Lookout man group. This includes developing more efficient methods of communication between law enforcement and these groups in lodge to provide a meliorate substitution of upwards-to-date offense prevention and homeland security information. In turn, the involvement level of Watch members would increment and keep groups active.
  • Recruit new Neighborhood Watch groups. Experience has shown that in areas where Neighborhood Watch groups are active, law-breaking is more often than not lower and support for police force enforcement higher.
  • Review daily all criminal offense-related calls for service records in their assigned area. Police officers will be looking to place problems areas that can exist addressed with prevention efforts. This includes working with crime analysts and district enforcement personnel seeking unified approaches in reducing crime by prevention.
  • Meet with crime victims and other citizens to offer services to reduce their potential of condign a victim in the future. The main activeness supporting this job is conducting crime prevention programs and security surveys to residential areas.
  • Act as a conduit for homeland security initiatives to encourage citizens to be observant and watchful by reporting things that seem unusual or out of place.

Managers and concern owners make risk management decisions for their businesses every twenty-four hours. These risks encourage them to seek new opportunities to turn a profit. Allowing law-breaking an opportunity to be is not ane of these risks, since no chance for turn a profit exists when crime is present. Criminal offence results in monetary loss, inventory loss, and a loss to the reputation of the business. Most importantly, criminal offence tin can impact the personal prophylactic of employees and their customers. This makes offense prevention skilful for business organisation from both a human and financial standpoint.

The Business Lookout Programme is modeled after the Neighborhood Watch Program and establishes a formal communication network betwixt police enforcement and businesses countywide. Business members are alerted to the potential of crime and are encouraged to look out for the community.

Law enforcement can provide members with training to educate owners, managers, and employees to be able to recognize and report any suspicious activities or crimes. Such training ranges from preventing shoplifting and robbery to learning how to exist a good witness, and many other topics. The key focus of each deputy is the commitment of proactive crime prevention and homeland security services to the business community.

Worship Scout was originally designed to bring crime prevention awareness and law enforcement services to all religious communities regardless of their religious behavior by providing programs on personal safety, dwelling security, drug awareness, auto theft, and many other subjects of involvement to the public. Since September eleventh special emphasis has been placed upon religious institutions that, equally a result of electric current globe events, may be at a greater threat level because of their religious beliefs.

Citizen Academies

Community-oriented policing is based on the premise that citizens should be empowered to heighten their quality of life and prevent or eliminate crime and the issues that lead to crime. 32 Everyone benefits when community members understand the office and part of their police department and get active proponents of constabulary enforcement. 33 One such initiative used by law enforcement agencies is the citizen academy. Citizen academies take been constructive in educating members of the community about the mission, goals, objectives, and programs of the police department. Citizen academies should be expanded to address the event of terrorism and the part that the community tin can play in assisting police force enforcement with information gathering, identification of target vulnerabilities, and volunteer opportunities directly supporting the homeland security strategy.

Homeland policing

For the past ten years, community-oriented policing has served as the impetus for law enforcement agencies to plant a closer relationship with citizens to identify threats within the community that create a climate of fear and social disorder. The accent in community policing on customs interest and problem solving clearly establishes a solid foundation upon which homeland security efforts should be built. At a time when local law enforcement agencies accept to deal with additional homeland security responsibilities and shrinking budgets, there could be a tendency to reduce customs policing efforts, which are even so often thought of equally a "frill." Under these circumstances, it is important that constabulary enforcement agencies non revert to the "traditional" approach to policing. Instead of de-emphasizing community-oriented policing efforts, law enforcement agencies must realize that a strong community-oriented policing philosophy within the agency provides a potent basis for preventing and responding to terrorism and its goal of creating fear in the community. Local police force enforcement must realize that their efforts are integral to whatsoever national homeland security strategy and that community-oriented policing could be their most constructive strategy in dealing with terrorism prevention and response in their community.

The "homeland-policing" model presented hither suggests that the existing community policing model does serve as an effective framework for the development of an constructive prevention strategy for homeland security past local law enforcement agencies. Results of a 2004 survey of all local constabulary enforcement agencies in the state of Florida showed that a significant correlation exists betwixt what agencies do in their day-to-twenty-four hour period activities with respect to customs policing and homeland security. For case, agencies that apply GIS to behave crime mapping and analysis also often apply GIS to conduct terrorism target mapping and analysis, and agencies that use their web site to disseminate law-breaking prevention information also ofttimes apply information technology to disseminate homeland security information. In brusque, results showed that factors associated with adopting a community policing philosophy among agencies and implementing homeland security strategies within agencies are highly related. 34

Chief Deputy Jose Docobo has served with the Hillsborough Canton Sheriff'southward Role for over 24 years. He has served previously every bit a Detective in Special Investigations, Internal Affairs; equally the Operations Corporal for the Enforcement Operations Section; every bit an Internal Diplomacy Sergeant at the Professional Standards Agency; as Lieutenant, Captain and and then Major, of the Inspectional Services Partition; and as Colonel of the Enforcement Operations Department and Executive Support Section. Principal Deputy Docobo graduated with honors from the Academy of South Florida and holds a Master of Arts Degree from the Us Naval Postgraduate School in National Security Studies. He is also a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the Senior Executive Fellows Program at Harvard University, and the Undercover Service Dignitary Protection School.


  1. Usa Department of Justice, Office of Customs Oriented Policing Services, "What is Community Policing," http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/default.asp?Item=36 [Accessed July iv, 2005].↵
  2. U.Due south. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, COPS INNOVATIONS, "A Closer Look, Local Law Enforcement responds to Terrorism: Lessons in Prevention and Preparedness," Washington, D.C., 2002.↵
  3. Rob Chapman and Matthew C. Scheider, "Community Policing: Now More than Ever," Office of Community Oriented Policing, U.Due south. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C., 2002↵
  4. Ibid.↵
  5. Dennis J. Stevens, "Case Studies in Community Policing," (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001), 9.↵
  6. Kenneth J. Peak and Ronald W Glensor, "Community Policing and Problem Solving: Strategies and Practices" (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996), xvi-xvii.↵
  7. Herman Goldstein, "Problem-Oriented Policing" (New York: McGraw Colina, 1990), 32-34.↵
  8. Mark H. Moore, "Problem Solving and Community Policing: A Preliminary Cess of New Strategies of Policing," "Modern Policing Crime and Justice Book 15", eds. Michael Tonry and Norval Morris (Chicago: Academy of Chicago Press, 1992), 99-158.↵
  9. John E. Eck, Due west. Spelman, W. D. Hill, D. W. Stedman and Chiliad.R. Murphy, "Problem Solving: Problem Oriented Policing in Newport News," (Washington, D.C.: Police Executive Research Forum, 1987), 3-4.↵
  10. United States Department of Justice, Role of Customs Oriented Policing Services, "General Elements of Customs Policing," world wide web.cops.usdoj.gov/print.asp?Detail=477 [Accessed May 24, 2004].↵
  11. Matthew C. Scheider, Robert East Chapman and Michael F. Seelman, "Connecting the dots for a proactive arroyo," "Border and Transportation Security America," Quarter 4, 2003, 159.↵
  12. Markle Foundation Chore Strength, "Protecting America's Freedom in The Information Age: A Report of the Markle Foundation Chore Forcefulness" (New York, New York, October 2002), 10.↵
  13. The Rockefeller Found of Government, "The Federalism Claiming: The Claiming for State and Local Government," "The Role of "Home" in Homeland Security: Symposium Series," Number 2, March 24, 2003.↵
  14. Matthew C. Scheider and Robert Chapman, "Community Policing and Terrorism," "Journal of Homeland Security," April 2003, http://www.homelandsecurity.org/journal/articles/Scheider-Chapman.html [Accessed October 31, 2004].↵
  15. Eric Taylor, "The New Homeland Security Appliance, Impeding the Fight against Agile Terrorist," "Cato Establish, Foreign Police Briefing" No. 70, June 26, 2002, 5.↵
  16. Matthew C. Scheider and Robert Chapman, "Community Policing and Terrorism."↵
  17. President George Westward. Bush, Citizen Corps, http://www.whitehouse.gov [Accessed May 14, 2004].↵
  18. Citizen Corps Mission Statement, United States department of Homeland Security, http://www.citizencorps.gov/councils/ [Accessed October 31, 2004].↵
  19. Neighborhood Lookout man, United States Department of Justice, http://world wide web.usaonwatch.org [Accessed November 1, 2004].↵
  20. Volunteers in Police force Service, United States Department of Justice, http://world wide web.policevolunteers.org/ [Accessed Nov 1, 2004].↵
  21. Community Emergency Response Teams, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Bureau, http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/CERT/, [Accessed November ane, 2004].↵
  22. Medical Reserve Corps, The states Section of Health and Human Services, http://world wide web.medicalreservecorps.gov/ [Accessed Nov 1, 2004].↵
  23. Timothy D. Crowe, "Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design" (Woburn, Mass: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1991), 28-31.↵
  24. Cynthia A. Mamalian and Nancy Thou LaVigne, "The Use of Computerized Crime Mapping by Police Enforcement," National Institute of Justice, U.Due south. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Jan 1999, ane.↵
  25. Williams Lyons, "Partnerships, data and public safety: community policing in a time of terror," "Policing: An International Journal of Law Strategies & Management," 25, No. 3 (2002): 532.↵
  26. Daniel Due west. Flynn, "Defining the community in customs policing," United states of america Department of Justice, Community Policing Consortium, Washington, D.C., July 1998. http://www.communitypolicing.org/publications/cfm, [Accessed Apr 28, 2004].↵
  27. Gary Due west. Cordner, "Community Policing: Elements and Furnishings," Roger G. Dunham and Geoffrey P. Alpert, eds., "Critical Issues in Policing." (prospect Heights, Il: Waveland Press, 1997), 451-468.↵
  28. Matthew C. Scheider and Robert Chapman, "Community Policing and Terrorism."↵
  29. Ibid.↵
  30. Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism, Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences, National Research Council, "Making the Nation Safer: The Role of Scientific discipline and Technology in Countering Terrorism," (Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 2002), 270. http://world wide web.nap.edu/html/stct/index.html [Accessed November 7, 2004].↵
  31. Ibid, 272.↵
  32. Dennis J. Stevens, "Example Studies in Community Policing", ix.↵
  33. Daniel P. Carlson, "When Cultures Clash: The Various Nature of Police-Community Relations and Suggestions for Improvement", (Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 2002), 115.↵
  34. Jose M. Docobo, "Community policing as the primary prevention strategy for homeland security at the local constabulary enforcement level," (masters thesis, Naval Postgraduate School, 2005), lx.↵

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