"Promising Practices Guide" Highlights Methods for Respectful Policing and
Protection of Civil Liberties that Facilitate Effective Counterterrorism
Efforts
BOSTON, May 25 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its Partnering for Prevention
and Community Safety Initiative (PfP), Northeastern University today
introduced the "Promising Practices Guide" which outlines promising practices
for building relationships between federal, state, and local law enforcement
and the American Muslim, Arab and Sikh communities in order to enhance
counterterrorism initiatives, protect the community from hate crimes and hate
incidents, and preserve civil rights.
In the post September 11 environment, the need for cooperation between law
enforcement and American Muslim, Arab, and Sikh communities has never been
more critical. Recognizing this need, Northeastern University created the PfP
initiative to support the goal of forging partnerships between law enforcement
and communities in order to yield more effective counterterrorism strategies,
increase community safety, and secure greater protection of civil liberties.
The Soros and Whiting Foundations funded the PfP project team to develop its
year-long research project into the Promising Practices Guide that will serve
as a basic curriculum for future law enforcement and community training
activities.
"Community-law enforcement partnerships can provide tools to help counter
the current terrorist threat. Additionally, by including a community voice in
the development and implementation of counterterrorism initiatives, these
partnerships help to ensure that counterterrorism policies and operations
remain consistent with this country's democratic ideals," said Deborah
Ramirez, Executive Director for Partnering for the Prevention and Community
Safety Initiative at Northeastern University.
When law enforcement agencies partner with members of the community, they
gain cultural and linguistic insights and informed observations and
cooperation which help create an unparalleled strategy for crime prevention
and detection.
The Promising Practices Guide highlights Southeastern Michigan as an
example of successful partnerships between law enforcement and the community.
The U.S. Attorney's Office and other federal, state, and local law enforcement
agencies in Southeastern Michigan partnered with local community organizations
to collaborate on appropriate counterterrorism and hate crime prevention
strategies. The result has been a significantly higher rate of response to law
enforcement inquiries from American Arab, Muslim and Sikh community members,
and the communities' increased sense of security and protection, both from
hate crimes and terrorist attacks.
The Guide also details the experiences of law enforcement and the
community in Southern California and the Greater Boston area.
The Partnering for Prevention and Community Safety Initiative at
Northeastern University will continue to serve as an independent entity where
law enforcement and Muslim, Arab and Sikh communities can work together to
develop and implement counterterrorism and hate crime strategies that are both
operationally effective and consistent with civil and human rights ideals.
The Project has already garnered support from a number of law enforcement
agencies and community organizations. Specifically, FBI Special Agent in
Charge, Washington Field Office, Michael Rolince and the President of the
American Task Force on Palestine, Dr. Ziad Asali have served as project
advisors and in addition, the project has received support from the following
national community organizations: AAI, ADC, SMART and MPAC.
To follow the ongoing research of the Partnering for Prevention and
Community Safety Initiative or to download a copy of the Guide, please visit:
http://www.ace.neu.edu/pfp.
About Northeastern University
Northeastern University, located in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, is
a world leader in cooperative education and recognized for its expert faculty
and first-rate academic and research facilities. Through co-op, Northeastern
undergraduates alternate semesters of full-time study with semesters of paid
work in fields relevant to their professional interests and major, giving them
nearly two years of professional experience upon graduation. The majority of
Northeastern graduates receive a job offer from a co-op employer. Cited for
excellence two years running by U.S. News & World Report, Northeastern was
named a top college in the northeast by the Princeton Review 2003/04. In
addition, Northeastern's career services was awarded top honors by Kaplan
Newsweek's "Unofficial Insiders Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges and
Universities," 2003 edition. For more information, please visit
http://www.northeastern.edu.
CONTACT:
Sue Thorn
617-373-2410
s.thorn@neu.edu
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