Police Officer Experiences with Community Policing and Views on Counterterrorism in Somalia

This article examines frontline officers' experiences with community policing and how these experiences shape their attitudes toward different security actors engaged in counterterror activities in a region experiencing protracted conflict (i.e., Kismaayo, Somalia). Relying on path dependency t...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Middle East and Africa 2022-10, Vol.13 (4), p.407-434
Main Author: Muibu, Daisy
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attitudes
Community
Community policing
conflict
Counterterrorism
Cultivation
Dependency theory
Intelligence
militarized forces
military
Path dependence
Police
Regions
Somalia
Terrorism
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This article examines frontline officers' experiences with community policing and how these experiences shape their attitudes toward different security actors engaged in counterterror activities in a region experiencing protracted conflict (i.e., Kismaayo, Somalia). Relying on path dependency theory and an original and new dataset, the current study finds that officers with experience with the organizational adaptation dimension of community policing are less likely to believe that militarized forces with offensive functions are suited to respond to terrorism, while experience with the community engagement dimension makes officers less likely to believe an armed intelligence force with an informant cultivation mandate is suited for countering terrorism. These findings expand the scholarly understanding of community policing and counterterrorism by focusing on officers' actual experiences with different dimensions of community policing and how these experiences shape frontline officers' attitudes in a region dealing with prolonged warfare, an active terrorist threat, and a plurality of forces.
ISSN:2152-0844
2152-0852
DOI:10.1080/21520844.2022.2086391