Advancement in communication technology poses new challenges to counter-terrorism efforts. With social media, end-to-end encryption technology, and the dark net, extremists can now broadcast their propaganda messages to global audiences. The case of Zachary Chesser shows how easy it has become for jihadists to radicalize youths over the internet. Within months of converting to Islam, Chesser started watching terrorist propaganda videos and contributing to radical blogs such as Anwar al-Aulaqi (Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2012). In the wake of the new challenges, what can the United States do to deal with extremism?
As far as counter-terrorism efforts are concerned, the Dutch area great example to follow. Their counter-terrorism efforts have borne fruits, and the country was not touched by the wave of terrorist attacks that affected Germany, Belgium, and France. The Dutch counter-terrorism efforts entail multiagency information sharing and cooperation with international bodies. They use both repressive and preventive measures to counter radicalization. Their law is flexible to give the government extra powers during heightened terror threats. The Dutch fight online radicalization by monitoring online platforms to identify vulnerable people and shut down extremist websites. They also have an elaborate system to curb terrorist financing. The Dutch prioritize preventive measures; the government, educators, social agencies, and other bodies work hand-in-hand to intervene with suspects that are vulnerable to radicalization. With collaboration between different bodies, all those strategies can be effective in the USA. The family plays an important role in preventing radicalization as they are in regular communication with vulnerable persons. Family members can identify radicalization at an early stage and inform counselors and security agencies. In Zachary Chesser’s case, the family should have taken preventive measures when he started enforcing strict Islamic rules at home. The rapid rate of radicalization could be due to lack of family intervention; Chesser moved out of his mother’s house a few months after converting to Islam. Big wins are thrilling and more fulfilling, but they are not easy to achieve. When one aims to solve a big problem at once, it might take longer to reach the solution, thus exposing the person to fatigue and despair. The alternative is breaking up the problem into manageable parts. The process of breaking a problem into smaller, manageable parts is known as small wins strategy. It entails finding specific solutions to specific milestones within a larger problem (Weick, 1984). One advantage of dividing big problems into manageable parts is that one small win often leads to another (Weick, 1984). For a neighborhood officer working with the community, eliminating criminal gangs is a tough assignment. That said, it would pay off to divide the challenge into smaller parts. For instance, the officer and the community can start by identifying the specific harms that criminal gangs cause the community. These harms include drug trafficking, intimidation, extortion, stabbings, burglary, vandalism, theft, assault, and murder. Identifying the specific crimes, offenders, and crime hotspots in the community are examples of small wins. I would list the small wins based on the risks they pose to the community. I would also list the small wins depending on the effort, time, and resources needed to achieve them. After listing the small wins, I would start with those that can be achieved without seeking outside help. Some of the small wins can be achieved by the community alone; others will require the assistance of the police and the courts. For example, the community can reduce domestic burglary and theft from cars by installing lock doors and security alarms. The community can deal with small-risk offenders by itself without involving the police. The police can also solve some security problems without court processing. For instance, after collaborating with the community to identify crime hotspots and offenders, they could talk to the suspected people individually or as a group and warn them. Routine activities theory focuses on crime and the environment in which crime happens, rather than the offenders. The theory identifies three elements of crime: a person who is motivated and able to commit a crime, a vulnerable target, and the absence of guardianship (Felson, 2013). Crime is most likely to occur when all three elements are available. People can reduce their vulnerability to crime by auditing their routines and changing the habits that provide opportunities for crime. My routine mainly involves education, work, and socializing. Socializing entails hanging out with my friends in local clubs, parks, or in my friends’ places. I do not socialize every day of the week; I spend most of my time between home, work, and studying. Some of the habits in my routine that could expose me to street crime include staying late in work or school, listening to music on the streets, walking alone on the streets, using taxi apps, and using my credit cards in suspicious shops and online stores. These habits could expose me to mugging, larceny, and theft of bank information. I feel most exposed to crime while on the streets and when paying for something on the internet. In the streets, I feel more unsafe at night than in the day. Some of the strategies I will employ to reduce vulnerability to crime include avoiding giving personal information on the internet, checking the personal details of taxi drivers, traveling and walking on the streets with friends, not listening to music while on the streets, meeting first-time clients and visitors in public places, and watching out for suspicious characters around me. Crime prevention programs are classified into “works,” “doesn’t work,” and “promising.” The classification is a measure of the programs’ effectiveness. A “what works” program is one that scientific evaluation methods have passed as effective in preventing crime and reducing the risk factors for crime ( Sherman, Gottfredson, MacKenzie, Reuter, & Bushway, 1998 ) “Promising” programs exhibit low levels of certainty in crime prevention and reducing risk factors for crime (Sherman et al., 1998). A program is classified as “doesn’t work” when scientific evidence shows with reasonable certainty that the programs do not prevent crime (Sherman et al., 1998). It is surprising authors et al., a study sponsored by the National Institute of Justice, classifies community mobilization of residents’ efforts against crime, individual and peer counseling of students, and rehabilitation programs using counseling as “doesn’t work.” Community mobilization and engagement in crime prevention have been put forward by different experts and literatures as some of the strategies police agencies can use to reduce crime. Compared to the traditional response to call, community mobilization is a holistic approach to policing, so it is surprising that it is termed as ineffective. Further, it is often argued that the criminal justice system should reform offenders, rather than just punishing them. Counseling is recommended as a means of ensuring that petty offenders do not become serious offenders, so it is surprising that individual and peer counseling of students, and rehabilitation programs using counseling are classified as “doesn’t work.” Both Drug Abuse and Resistance Training and drug courts aim to manage the drug abuse menace in America. But there are differences between the two programs in terms of the target groups and the way they are executed. Drug courts aim to rehabilitate offenders with substance abuse problems. Instead of a jail sentence, the court recommends long-term drug rehabilitation. The court monitors the drug rehabilitation program. Drug Abuse and Resistance Training targets youths in educational institutions. It aims to introduce drug abuse education at an early age. Modern security problems require police agencies to shift from traditional methods of policing and incorporate the use of science and technology in their strategies. In efforts to apply scientific data analysis in crime management, security agencies have crime analyst positions. A crime analyst uses scientific methods to organize and interpret data; they use data to predict crimes and identify crime hotspots. Small and middle-sized security agencies may not have trained crime analysts due to budgetary constraints. In such agencies, law enforcement officers play the roles of crime analysts. Can such officers meet the minimum requirements for a crime analyst position? Mesa Police Department minimum requirement for crime analyst positions is a college or university bachelor’s degree or its equivalent in terms of training and experience (City of Mesa Police, n.d) . This means that candidates for this position can substitute the bachelor’s degree requirement for relevant training and experience. Though law enforcement officers are allowed to substitute the bachelor’s degree requirement for experience, the requirement would still lock out many officers. According to Gardiner (2017), only about 30% of law enforcement officers in the US have four-year college degrees. Further, many officers may not have the preferred qualifications, considering that they have not undergone professional training in crime analysis. The preferred qualifications for the crime analyst position include knowledge of programming languages, quantitative methods, and statistical analysis software. Mission statements are important for any organization. They show the goals and priorities of the organization to the public. Mission statements also ensure that the employees in an organization are working towards similar goals. Consider the mission statement of St. Louis County Police Department: “ The mission of the St. Louis County Police Department is to work cooperatively with the public and within the framework of the constitution to enforce the laws, preserve the peace, and reduce fear” (Belmar, n.d) . St. Louis County Police Department statement of values contains the following lines.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The St. Louis County Police Department exists to serve the community by protecting life and property; by preventing crime; by enforcing the laws; and by maintaining order for all people… In fulfilling our mission, we need the support of citizens and elected officials in order to provide the quality of service our values commit us to providing… We believe that cooperation with the community and the members of our organization will enable us to combine our diverse backgrounds, skills and styles to achieve common goals beneficial to the community and the St. Louis County Police Department. (St. Louis Couty Police Department, 2007) The mission and statement of values of St. Louis County Police Departments shows its commitment to community policing. First and foremost, by including community involvement in the mission statement, the police department shows that it has community policing as a philosophy and organizational strategy. As stated earlier, a mission indicates an organization’s priorities. The community policing principle of ethics, legality, responsibility, and trust is evident in the mission and statement of values. The department commits to work within the framework of the constitution. Also, the department lists integrity as one of the qualities it values; integrity earns organizations public trust. St. Louis County Police Department lists problem-solving among their values; immediate and long-term proactive problem solving is a principle of community policing. Other principles of community policing in the mission and statement of values are building the future and commitment to community empowerment.
References
Belmar, J. M. (n.d). Personal History Questionnaire . Retrieved November 17, 2019, from https://stlouisco.com/Portals/8/docs/Document%20Library/police/Careers/applicat.pdf
City of Mesa Police. (n.d). Crime Analyst Job Description . Retrieved November 17, 2019, from City of Mesa Police: http://apps.mesaaz.gov/jobdescriptions/documents/JobDescriptions/cs4509.pdf
Felson, M. (2013). Routine activity approach. In Environmental criminology and crime analysis (pp. 92-99). Willan.
Gardiner, C. (2017, 10). Policing around the Nation: Education, Philosophy, and Practice . Retrieved November 17, 2019, from National Police Foundation: https://www.policefoundation.org/publication/policing-around-the-nation-education-philosophy-and-practice/
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. (2012, February). Zachary Chesser:A Case Study in Online Islamist Radicalization and Its Meaning for the Threat of Homegrown Terrorism. Retrieved November 19, 2019, from U.S Senate: https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/CHESSER%20FINAL%20REPORT(1)2.pdf.
Sherman, L. W., Gottfredson, D. C., MacKenzie, D. L., Eck, J., Reuter, P., & Bushway, S. D. (1998). Preventing crime: What works, what doesn’t, what’s promising. Research in brief. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice .
St. Louis Couty Police Department. (2007, April 18). Statement of Values . Retrieved October 18, 2019, from St. Louis Couty Police Department: https://www.stlouiscountypolice.com/Who-We-Are/Department-Procedures/Statement-of-Values
Weick, K. E. (1984). Small wins: Redefining the scale of social problems. American Psychologist , 39 (1), 40.
