Not gonna lie: I'm a little uncomfortable with the application of military concepts to domestic policing, however simple it is for us to see the overlaps.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Ink Spots reader kicks ass, takes names
Just kidding, not really. But Mike Few is quoted here about a program he's involved in out in Salinas, California, to help stem gang violence.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Perhaps the overlaps exist because COIN is fundamentally applying domestic policing within the context of military operations, rather than the other way around.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the overlaps exist because COIN is fundamentally applying domestic policing within the context of military operations, rather than the other way around.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably an oversimplification (or maybe I just misunderstand what you mean). Yes, our specific method of executing COIN applies some of the logic of policing. But then, the more you read about modern policing, the more you're confronted by the reality that there's a lot of catch-and-punish going on rather than deter-and-rehabilitate.
There's a parallel to be drawn here, too: locking people up may stop crime's advance for the simple reason that those incarcerated aren't breaking laws anymore, but it doesn't do anything to roll back criminality or address the conditions that spawn it. It's a bit like tactically countering an insurgency without nesting those efforts in a broader, whole-of-government stability operation designed to address the drivers of insurgency.
I think this is one of the more interesting areas of future COIN/conflict research
ReplyDeleteThere are also many parallels with how policing is done in large metropolitan areas with high crime rates compared to how we should be doing COIN. At least from an operational/intelligence point of view. John Sullivan from LA County Sheriff's office has done most of the best work on this (writing often with Adam Elkus).
ReplyDeleteI think a lot more can be done to use COIN principles to address crime (that WoG approach at the municipal level) and a lot more to get policing tactics into COIN ops. There is some research going on with the later (including my day job) but not much on the former.