Policing

New Policing Strategies Emerge To Prevent Violent Extremism

The recent mass shooting in Orlando and the territorial losses of ISIS in Syria and Iraq have lead to concerns that more attacks will be orchestrated in the West, particularly in the United States, either directly by the hardline militant group or by those inspired by ISIS’s ideology.

In response to the growing threat of violent extremism and the implications that it can have on the homeland, a new manual has been developed with the goal of recommending policies that encourage and build trust between the police and the communities they serve while effectively combating the expansion of extremist rhetoric and action.

The 39-page document, titled “Promising Practices For Using Community Policing To Prevent Violent Extremism,” is the result of a two-year study conducted by Duke University, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill between June 2013 and April 2015.

The purpose of the project was to determine the challenges police departments face in developing community-policing programs designed to prevent violent extremism, an ideological motivated violence intended to advance a political cause, and to identify promising practices that are being used by the police around the country.