Counterrorism Police Relations

Policing has changed since 9/11. They wanted different ways to detect terrorist actions and criminal acts. So community policing was implemented. The government has provided money and has been supportive in agencies efforts to participate in community policing. “For example, the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), a branch of the Department of Justice, provide funding to local police agencies to hire 100,000 new community policing officers in the 1990s” (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2000 as cited in Chappell, 2009, 6).

Police agencies across the United States have adopted the motto “To Protect and to Serve.” However, there is serious tension in the relationship police share with the communities surrounding them. There are many factors influencing this relationship. The strained relationship between police officers and citizens goes back as far as the time of segregation and probably even farther.

For the final project for this American Policing course I’ve created a research paper on Policing in America. Throughout the contents of this paper I have identified whether the current policing philosophies have a positive or negative impact on the communities and how I’ve arrived at this conclusion. I have provided this critical assessment and recommendation based on text readings, scholarly research, and personal experience, in and out of the bonds of this course.

1.This week's Discussion will focus on the response of state and local agencies to terrorist attacks. According to your readings this week, what specific state and local police functions are among the most important to develop within the "era of homeland security"? Explain why you believe this is so.

In the recent times, a lot of attention has been put into diverting the role of law and leadership enforcement to life and property protection from a large number of external and internal dangers. Homeland security strategy mentions that, on the neighborhood level, data and information gathering, coordination with state and government organizations, foundation insurance, and upgraded advancement of police-group connections will encourage aversion, furthermore, help reaction to potential terrorist attacks. On the other hand, the oddity of ideas under the Homeland Security worldview can be at any rate somewhat followed to the model of community policing (Stewart & Morris, 2009). In reality, it can be securely contended that for policing, homeland security obligations arrived all of a sudden as a solitary substitute to the strength of community policing.

Law enforcement and the community that it serves should have a harmonious relationship that is built on the foundation of trust and protection. Often, the community relies on police officers to protect and serve, while in turn, police officers are dependent on the community to offer support and cooperation to serve the neighborhood efficiently. However, when there is no connection between the two, tension begins to form causing their relationship to deteriorate. If there is no communication between the police officers and the community, then law enforcement would not be able to serve or protect the neighborhood from crime adequately. For law enforcement agencies to properly serve their communities, new innovative policies need to be formed

Does Community Policing allow the police to keep homeland security a priority? Different police chiefs believe differently on this. Chiefs with 4 year degrees from departments that use community policing at higher levels also believe that community policing can improve homeland security.Oliver(2006) Priorities diverted from community to homeland security which lead the federal government to fund homeland with 41 billion(2004) Congressional Budget Office, compared with community policing budget 400 million(Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, 2004). The funding was less than half for community policing than it was before 2001, which Violent Crime Control Act gave 8.8 billion for. Many believe that police get a lot of intelligence from the relationship they have with communities that could prevent a terrorist attack(Henry 2002). The investment in community policing could contribute to strong information for Homeland security to work with and be workable with each other(Murray 2005). Well others argue that community policing can work along with homeland security because they have different strategies and objectives (De Guzman 2002). Pelfrey(2005) believes adapting homeland security with community policing is best because it allows the community be involved and gain trust. International Association of Chiefs of Police deem necessary for the success of homeland security is to have community policing. 9-11 also brought positive reactions to community policing since many citizens support grew after the attack for the police and there presence in the community(Fridell, 2004).After 9-11 (Ortiz, Hendrick, Suggie(2007) showed that there was an increase in community policing efforts especially in Arab

Community Policing Prevention Strategy for Homeland Security Community policing is a policing strategy that focuses on building strong ties and working closely community members. “Community policing consists of three components which are community partnerships, organizational transformation, and problem solving” (Docobo, 2005). Community partnerships help to create resolutions to problems. The trust that citizens have in the police is benefited by this component. Community policing was built on the idea that individuals should feel compelled to stop crime.

Community-oriented policing is effective ,but its implementation has been reduced. Community-oriented policing funds were reduced because of September 11, 2001. “The events of September 11 and the subsequent concern for national security have justifiably shifted the priorities of policing” (Murray, 2005, p247). The ‘war on terror’ would shift away from community-oriented policing and would reignite traditional policing methods

It is quite unfortunate that there is still a misconception that police alone can maintain and create safe communities. However, this is not true as police rely heavily on the information they get from the local community. Despite the formation of community policing and other numerous programs promoted by different police administration, there are still security challenges in the many communities around the United States (Ariel, Weinborn, & Sherman, 2016).

It comes to light that police departments across the states play an important role in fighting and preventing terrorism. They are being trained to learn and investigate local terrorist threats throughout the United States, and to make sure the community is protected from such harm. In to do so police officers will have to extend they stay in the community and be involved in such activities and improve the community trust, another thing they will have to do is to build a partnership with other local businesses and other private and non-private agencies. These changes will have to correspond with the current police training and practices.

The relationship between the police and the communities they serve hasn’t always been the most productive. Against the backdrop of the tumultuous era of the 1960s when the nation’s collective unrest regarding various then current events ranging from the social upheaval of the civil rights movement to the broadly unpopular and deepening conflict in Vietnam spilled onto the streets of American cities seemingly everywhere, local police forces, lacking in experience with crowd control, often found themselves in violent encounters with these various groups, earning them a reputation of being oppressive organizations (Schmalleger, 2014, p. 112). This reputation works against the police even to this day by causing a deep distrust of law

“local police departments must balance the competing challenges that urban counterterrorism initiatives raise from security, law enforcement, intelligence and civil liberties perspectives” (Silber, 2013, p. 150).

Local law enforcement and also intelligence agencies utilize what is currently known as community policing as a tactic to acquire information. Intelligence led policing can be useful in many ways but one of the main ways it is utilized and is useful is when we try to fight against terrorism and dangerous events that might affect our community.

Did you know that 42% of Americans find their local law enforcement untrustworthy?  This is due in large part to the number of police related incidents that have been in the news of late.  The negative publicity that law enforcement is getting has an adverse effect on all police departments, nationwide. In turn this is having an effect on police-community relations.  To better the relations between the Ringgold police department and the community there needs to be more outreach programs.