Policy Briefs Examining the Operationalization of Community Oriented Policing in Gulu, Uganda (2024) This policy brief explores the implementation and impact of Community Oriented Policing in Gulu, Uganda. Stay tuned for more details and access to the full document. Defining community-oriented policing (2020). Collecting water to bring home to your family without fear of being attacked; going to the toilet during the night without fear of being raped; being assured of a safe upbringing for your children — all these examples relate to how people experience peace and security on a day-to-day basis. In many communities around the world, however, people do not have the privilege of such peace of mind. Instead, they are trapped in circumstances characterised by the ever-present threat of violence, and where state police lack the reach or capability to provide any sense of security. Even where state police do have a presence, they may in fact pose just as much of a threat to local villagers as the criminals they are meant to be dealing with. Who is the community in community-oriented policing (COP) training? (2020) This brief presents some our findings on how police training and training materials address key concepts in COP susce as community, gender and partnerships, and the impolications this has on the way COP is taught, understood and practiced. Possibilities of advancing police reform in Guatemala through COP (2020). This policy brief uses research form two localities of Guatemala to argue that, in spite of difficulties, community-oriented policing (COP) strategies open oppotunities to move police reform forward in high-violence, low-trust, weak-instituritons, post-conflict context of Guatemala. Trust in community-oriented policing: Reflections on the results of research in Central America (2020). The policy brief emphasizes the enduring problem of trust in the context of region and the threat a current political return to authoritarianism represents to historic gain with COP and human security. (In)visibility: Women and community policing in northern Uganda (2020). Community-based policing, as a method of preventing crime and increasing protection for society, is often considered to be “close to the people”, however, women’s special needs and expectations regarding successful policing are not always sufficiently considered in theory and practice. This study, conducted in the Gulu district in Northern Uganda in 2019, reveals these expectations and needs as expressed in interviews with police officers, magistrates, local NGO members, and local leaders. We want you! Youth recruitment in post-conflict areas (2020). According to the latest United Nations estimates of the world’s population (as of 2020), 1.2 billion of the planet’s inhabitants were between 15 and 24 years of age. This represents 1 in 6 people. By 2030, this number is projected to grow around 7 percent, amounting to 1.3 billion youths. The majority of this growth will occur in developing countries, and these youths in particular are in need. Comparative and interdisciplinary research in post-conflict settings: Lessons identified (2020). How should comparative research be conducted in large interdisciplinary projects? Based on first-hand experiences from a five-year, interdisciplinary, EU-funded Horizon 2020 project on community-oriented policing (COP), this policy brief reflects on what worked and what could have been done differently. Civil security in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: The evolution of new institutions in the wake of crisis (2020). In the aftermath of conflict, the military often plays a central role in providing security until civil security actors such as the police are able to take over and ensure the rule of law. How well this transition is managed, however, cannot depend solely on government security actors - communication and collaboration with civil society and local institutions are critical. In this brief we share our findings from the Swat Valley in Pakistan, where new forms of hybrid institutions are emerging in the wake of conflict as examples of how police and communities can work together to build trust and ensure lasting peace. Closeness Versus Distance: Relational Aspects of Community Policing (2020). Community policing is increasingly used as a strategy for bringing the police and public closer together. However, both close and distanced police-public relationships have advantages and disadvantages. How close should the police and the public ideally be? There is nothing here: Growing up in post-conflict Kosovo (2019). Kosovo is not only Europe’s youngest state, having declared independence from Serbia in 2008, but is also home to Europe’s youngest population. The average age is only 27.8. Drawing from focus groups conducted in the summer of 2018, this policy brief identifies key insecurities for Kosovar youth and addresses their attitudes toward the Kosovar police. Downloading trust: Can information and communication technology (ICT) help police and communities better address gender-based violence? (2019). Based on fieldwork conducted in a total of 11 case countries spanning four continents, this brief considers the constraints and possibilities of using technology to address GBV in community-based policing (COP) in post-conflict contexts. One size fits all? Adjusting policing to local circumstances (2019). General operational procedures and ideas about structures and strategies are often a vital part of police reform and community policing, yet neglect of local conditions has led to failures. Four ideal types based on our research are presented here, to prepare new members of police forces for the fact that relationships between police forces and their surroundings vary. Work With The Community, Not Your Weapons (2017). The importance of involving local communities local communities in national strategies to prevent and counter violent extremism is often under-estimated. However, effective involvement of the local population requires a certain level of trust in the state and the police. Pride of Place: Building Kenyan Policing From The Bottom Up (2017). Most Kenyans distrust or fear police officers, but examples of meaningful community policing can be found. Based on instances of good practice collected from three police stations in Nairobi, Kenya in August 2016, this brief identifies three key observations that may apply to police-community engagement elsewhere in Eastern Africa. In short, police officers are more important than the policing models under which they operate. Wrong Number: When Technology Fails Police and Communities: Lessons from Somaliland (2016). Based on fieldwork in Somaliland’s capital, Hargeisa, this brief shows how local preferences can undermine the availa- bility of globalized technologies, and offers insights into the everyday choices shaping low-level policing. It reflects local expectations and how they are, rather than should be, fulfilled. It emphasises that rather than being a solution to poor policing, ICT may distract from the need for communities to take the initiative in engaging with the police. Social Media: A Tool for COP in Post-Conflict Settings? (2016). Information and communication technologies have changed the way we communicate over the past decade. Social media plays an important role for the provision of security - for police agencies as much as for citi- zens. The same is true for post conflict societies. On building trust with technology (2016) As armed conflict ends, and peacebuildings begin, police reform becomes one of the pillars of international support. For years, this has meant a militarization of police forces. However, building positive relations between the government and its citizenry is important for a more sustainable peace. This includes developing alternative models of policing and it includes finding inclusive means for communications between authorities and communities. Designing community policing models: The relevance of political and security factors (2016). Community policing is a widespread paradigm of policing in the contemporary world, but is manifested in various ways. This analysis is based on fieldwork in Kenya in 2016-2018, interviewing representatives from international organizations and embassies in Nairobi, Kenyan national human rights organizations, local civil society organizations, government representatives, ordinary citizens in Nairobi, and Kenyan academic experts in various fields, in addition to relevant secondary sources.
