Role of community policing in countering radicalization highlighted in new guide by OSCE Community Security Initiative in Kyrgyzstan

The Community Security Initiative (CSI) team in Kyrgyzstan on 31 July 2014 presented the OSCE-prepared guidebook on “Preventing Terrorism and Countering Violent Extremism and Radicalization that lead to Terrorism: A Community-Policing Approach”.

The guidebook, launched by the OSCE Transnational Threats Department and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in March this year, provides practical guidance on engaging the community by establishing police-public partnerships among the police, public authorities and citizens with the aim of developing proactive problem-solving practices to prevent and counter terrorist radicalization.

It is designed to be used by senior police professionals to further their knowledge of how to utilize police-public partnerships and community policing in their operational work to combat violent extremism and terrorist radicalization.

The publication covers specific community-policing concepts, such as the transparency and accountability of police operations; the tasking and training for community police officers; communicating and exchanging information with the public; engaging with communities; co-ordinating between different agencies; and evaluation.

The CSI was given a mandate in November 2010 by all OSCE participating States to support Kyrgyzstan’s police in dealing with the security situation following violence in June 2010 and to assist in the police reform process. Among the CSI’s activities is assisting Kyrgyzstan’s police in developing effective police-public partnerships.