The role and responsibilities of the local police
Abstract
Terrorism is a growing threat faced by several nations today. The response to terrorism had radically changed throughout the world subsequent to the 9/11 attacks and the role of the local police in combating terrorism was fiercely emphasized. The local police, while understanding and accepting the challenge have drawbacks in their counter terrorist efforts. Terrorist outfits and organizations are generally small and are secretive in their working, which makes it difficult for the law enforcement agencies to track them down. The modus operandi of the terrorists is to seek innovative and less suspecting ways of attacks that at the same time could cause bigger damages. The local police require technology and training relevant to intelligence gathering, analysis, and sharing. In the pursuit of terrorism, Saint Leo University’s core values of community help individuals to introspect all aspects of terrorism and act accordingly.
One of the major problems facing the contemporary world is terrorism. Today there are several terrorist organizations involved in different forms of terrorist activities against the governments and sections they oppose. Terrorism is increasingly sought as a way of achieving the diverse goals of the fanatic groups. Despite their ideologies and motives being different, terrorists are all basically driven by their beliefs and principles that are in conflict with the sections they oppose. These terrorists consider themselves as fighting for a just and a right cause which they interpret as a sacred or moral duty. Therefore a person considered a terrorist may be considered as a patriot, savior or redeemer by another section of people who identify themselves with the terrorist. Apart from loss of life and property terror attacks have huge implications for any society. With fear, panic, suspicion, kidnapping, and murder all around, terrorism creates serious law and order problems in the society. The adverse effects of terrorism endured by the society includes both short and long term effects and also the risk of disintegration of the society itself. The short term affects include a decline in the morale of the people and that of the security forces. A feeling of insecurity grows among the people, even as the confidence on the administration wanes. More resources and costs are needed to replace the damaged infrastructure. In the long-term, economic growth, development and distribution of public service become affected (Gangadaran, 2007). In some cases it can also gives rise to other issues like unemployment and corruption that could erode the values and belief among the people, leading to mass exodus too.
Most of our defense related strategies and national homeland security plans have both short term and long-term aspects. While the short-term strategies are directed at addressing the immediate problems, the long-term strategies are aimed at addressing the causes of these problems. As fundamentalist groups are increasingly becoming a domestic threat, left and right wing terrorists are also very active at the domestic level (Whittaker, 2003). The social view is that the current operational methodology of the homeland security is too short and too narrow. The new levels of terrorism cannot be confronted by contemporary procedures. Relying only on public inputs and information technology is not sufficient to protect people and property from such vengeance. Such type of terrorism can only be thwarted by a new approach involving a radical change in policies. The Department of Homeland Security and its affiliates at the local and state level should coordinate with the other agencies to defeat the social conditions contributing to social unrest, which include terrorism.
When it comes to terrorism, the local police have a critical role in gathering information on suspects and in preventing such further incidents. Many people have crucial knowledge about individuals living in their community, and these people are more comfortable discussing it with the local police officers. Thus local departments are often in receipt of valuable information on the landscape and individuals within their jurisdiction. This is exactly the kind of data which the federal law enforcement agencies require (Flynn, 2010). However at times, this exchange of information between the local and federal agencies could be hampered by unproductive responses. It should be noted here that successful collaborations are largely dependent on individual qualities of the personnel and their pro-collaborative attitude to share information, rather than institutional policies. Although many in the local law enforcement know that they can contribute immensely to terrorism prevention efforts through community policing networks that gather and share information, they also understand that this wouldn’t be possible without federal assistance. The Office of Community Oriented Policing (COPS) strives to fill in this gap. COPS supports local law enforcement agencies by coordinating regional meetings and providing support in terms of technical assistance, grants for equipments and other critical infrastructure.
Although the 9/11 attacks drastically changed the way the world went about, the consequences of the attacks were more evident in the police force itself. It became absolutely certain that national security agencies could no longer work alone, effectively. The need to work in association with other public and private agencies, particularly the local police was clearly seen. The local police have the capability to better identify the prospective terrorists living or operating within their jurisdictions. They are thus more expected to protect vulnerable assets and populations, while also being responsible for the first response in case of a successful terror attack. These new responsibilities of the local police increase their already overburdened workload. Nonetheless, these responsibilities cannot be ignored or avoided as the public and the elected officials require their jurisdictional police to be well prepared.
Terrorist outfits and organizations are generally small and are secretive in their working, which makes it difficult for the law enforcement agencies to track them down. Although any crucial landmark or infrastructure is likely to be a terrorist target, often anything and everything are potential targets. There are several potential targets for the terrorists; elementary schools, chemical plants, medical care systems and bio-attacks – are among the innumerable primary vulnerabilities, the country is exposed to. These are only some of the many unprotected targets in a society. The targets are mostly selected in line with the consequences and harm intended to be caused. In many cases one attack can trigger a series of sequential damages. The modus operandi of the terrorists is to seek innovative and less suspecting ways of attacks that at the same time could cause bigger damages. For instance an attack on a stadium would have a bearing on that complex only, while an attack on a chemical plant would have greater consequences, beyond the limits of the plant. The Committee on Science and Technology for Countering Terrorism has identified nine areas, which can be used as potential targets (NRC, 2002). These include nuclear and radiological installations, toxic chemicals and explosive materials, human and agricultural health systems, information technology, energy systems, transportation systems, cities and structure infrastructure, the response of people to terrorism, and the complex and independent systems. Local law enforcement personnel need to be capable of meeting these threats as they are primarily responsible for its security.
Subsequent to 9/11, the new roles for the local and state law enforcement began to include (Miler & Braswell, 2011):
- Coordinating homeland security and state and local levels
- Gathering and analyzing of information, and sharing it
- Key assets and critical infrastructure protection
- Securing seaports, airports and national borders
- Exposure to new response tactics, equipment and systems
- Collaboration with state, federal and task forces
The importance of the role of the local police in anti-terrorism efforts may be attributed to Kelling and Bratton who emphasized the critical role played by the local police with regard to anti-terrorism efforts. Their viewpoint was that anti terrorism or counter terrorism was integral to every aspect of working in each department. Counter terrorism needs to be among the agenda of every meeting and the expectations and strategies must be shared and implemented particularly with those officers on the street (Kelling & Bratton, 2006). As the local police would be held responsible in case of a successful terrorist strike, the police need to plan ahead and ensure everyday precautions.
Terrorism prevention requires the police force to:
- Collect intelligence on potential attacks
- Ensure protection of vulnerable targets and
- Respond appropriately in case of an attack
Given the consequences of a terrorist attack, prevention of such attacks is paramount. Thus apprehending perpetrators before they act is vital. However to achieve this, police should not allocate bulk of their resources and efforts to intelligence gathering while compromising the protection of potential targets. Intelligence gathering should only be an integral aspect of a routine activity or normal business (Clarke and Newman, 2007). At the same time police should also not devote bulk of its efforts to protecting targets too, which is a less familiar role for them. Knowing that the threat of terrorism would never go away, communities need to develop long –term security plans, which need to be led by the police.
Police should not rely on ‘taking out’ terrorists, which mean identifying, capturing or killing them, as an effective strategy. This is largely ineffective because people, who are willing to lay down their lives for their beliefs, would not be deterred by punishments or death. Access to information, which helps in analyzing the plans, ambitions, and vulnerabilities of terrorists, is extremely difficult (Conroy, 1995). Only such information can prevent horrible terrorist acts. Apprehended terrorists are valuable sources information. However apprehending them is not easy as they could have sympathizers to provide support apart from themselves being capable of concealing their activities. They cannot be tried in open courts too, given the security concerns and their imprisonment could expose the captors to greater risk of harm. The supporters of the imprisoned terrorist would plan new attacks in an effort to seek a release. Killing these terrorists could also increase the bitterness between the captors and the population represented by the terrorists, rendering the conflict much harder to be resolved (Clarke & Newman, 2007). It would also be an opportunity for this hostile population to justify their violence, and transform the killed terrorist as ‘martyr’. This does not however imply that terrorists should not be chased, imprisoned, or killed. In fact at times it can even be of great advantage to counter terrorism efforts if a terrorist leader is killed. This is particularly true if the leader is a charismatic person with considerable influence over his followers and someone who cannot be easily replaced. Although the police can respond in several ways, much of these are beyond the realms of the abilities and interests of the local police, whose primary concern is only preventing terrorist attacks in their own communities (Clarke & Newman, 2007).
The Police Executive Research Firm (PERF) has also determined that the local police have a vital role in responding to disaster incidents and stabilizing the community after a terror attack. It was seen that the local police realize that their role in fighting terrorism is expanding, and are ready to face the challenge. However local police agencies require assistance in executing their roles and implementing the new policies. Local police agencies need to collaborate with their corresponding local, state and federal law enforcement officials and they should be an equal partner in any collaborative effort. The local police also require the support of non-police agencies like fire and rescue services, EMS, 911, health department, hazmat etc. This requires efficient interoperability communication systems and models of coordination for exchange of intelligence. The local police also require help in establishing policies and plans related to intelligence gathering, investigation, and information analysis. They also need help in finalizing mutual aid agreements and memoranda of understanding with those agencies they are expected to form task forces (Wexler, 2001). The technology, equipment and allied resources associated with sophisticated intelligence gathering, that are not part of the routine federal distribution, require to be resourced and set up. For this, funds from the federal office would be given directly to the local agencies, so as to improve their intelligence gathering and disaster management abilities. It is important for the local police agencies to interpret the dynamics of international terrorism facing their country, into what is to be done to confront it, at their local level. To achieve these local agencies need to be trained in understanding the functioning of the terrorist cells and its relevance in the local community. Training is also required for investigations and enquiries with potential terrorists, analyzing intelligence and in threat assessments. The local police also need to be sensitized to the concept of racially biased policing that could manifest intentionally or unintentionally.
The local police therefore need to be guided in their investigations and interrogation strategy so as to balance the security needs while also being in compliance with ethical conduct and human rights requirement. Profiling plays a crucial role in tracking perpetrators and should therefore be facilitated. Members of communities and ethnical backgrounds that have a history for terrorist activity or support need to be profiled. However here too, police officials should proceed with caution to not breach one’s privacy rights. Another important type of profiling which is an important law enforcement tool is the DNA profiling, which should be incorporated into counter terrorism activities. Since terrorists keep changing their identity, it might not be possible to scan every suspect for advanced feature or facial recognition procedures. However DNA profiling can be of help. Profiling is very integral to counter terrorism which again has huge relevance and connections with the local law enforcement agency. The local police agencies thus need considerable help in technology acquisition and deployment.
With the local police often being the first responders to a terrorist strike, the FBI and the DHS have rightly assumed the responsibility of training, equipping and supporting the local law enforcement. However a turf of war has been evident between the federal and the local law enforcement. The local law enforcement officials are very wary of sharing information with their federal counterparts in fear of having the credit being taken away, despite all their hard work (Miler & Braswell, 2011). However this is changing with the FBI becoming very selective in deciding which cases it would involve itself, permitting the state and local agencies play a greater role in tackling crimes like bank robbery, drug trafficking, organized crime etc. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has also imparted training and guidelines for local law enforcement response in case of a terrorist attack. The Office of Domestic Preparedness has also prepared guidelines for agencies including the police on first responder responsibilities.
With the threat of terrorism glooming large and affecting the normal life in several societies, Saint Leo University has attempted to improve the global situation through education initiatives. The University has implemented a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) A Model for a Changing World which helps students to acquire critical thinking skills while also exploring the University’s exclusive core values. The academic courses at the university are designed to provide students with an education that is accompanied with tools that help them reach their highest potential. Students are encouraged to use the value-based education to change themselves and the world, rather than taking the world as it comes. The university therefore has a set of six core values infused into its academic programs (Govani & Wright, 2005). These include:
- Excellence
- Respect
- Responsible stewardship
- Personal development
- Community and
- Integrity
With regard to terrorism, the core value of excellence introspects the character of these terrorists, irrespective of their affiliation and goals. It needs to be determined if the terrorists have a sense of character development and responsible leadership. It is important to identify the goals and purposes of not just the terrorists but also those who investigate and fight the terrorists. The University’s core values further recommends determining the presence or absence of societal or community sense among the terrorists. We need to determine if the terrorists are intend on imposing a religious order or an arbitrary secular order by force. With terrorists and counter terrorist activities going around us, the University perceives issues of integrity as being important for all associated players. Integrity and honesty in words and actions need to be considered for terrorist leaders and governments. The core value of respect is reflected by evaluating the effectiveness of the counter terrorism initiatives. God has provided us with plenty of resources which are either abandoned or destroyed by the terrorists. The extend of this destruction need to be estimated through responsible stewardship.
Saint Leo University attempts to promote character values and good behaviour among the students by inculcating a sense of community that has faith in shared norms. Moral development of the student does not arise from the curriculum but from a realization of community, that he or she is part of a group that share their doubts and aspirations (Kirk & Parrish, 2011). An emphasis is provided to understand each individual’s role and responsibility together with that of the others in the community. When interpreted as an approach against terrorism, individuals primarily take an ownership of their responsibility of security within their community. They acknowledge their continued efforts to fight terrorism in their community, guided by the values.
There is no doubt that the local police have a crucial role in meeting the increasing threat of terrorism. The local police are the first to respond in case of a disaster and are held for failure, in case of any successful terrorist attack. Although this is only a recent understanding, there has been a big headway in handing over major responsibilities to the local police. However the local police also require sophisticated infrastructure, training and education on the challenges and ethics associated with fighting terrorism. They particularly require negotiation and intelligence gathering skills together with a broad understanding of international or national terrorism and its relevance for them at their local level. Saint Leo University on its part contributes to tackling terrorism by inculcating core values that analyze and guide the counter terrorism efforts. Constant preparedness together with a respect for core values can contribute to a secure community.
References
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