1
Manual for trainers Community Policing Preventing Radicalisation & Terrorism Prevention of and Fight Against Crime 2009 With financial support from the Prevention of and Fight against Crime Programme European Commission - Directorate-General Justice, Freedom and Security This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Foreword by European Union CounterTerrorism Coordinator, Gilles de Kerchove In the context of terrorism and the bitter experience of high casualties, heavy damage and huge impact, prevention is an essential part of the EU strategy to counter terrorism. As a consequence, large amounts of research, studies and specialised resources have been engaged in this field and the results thereof have been invested in our legislation, policy and procedures. This manual is one of these tools that add to our understanding and handling of the issues involved. While we can take some comfort from the fact that the EU has not suffered a major terrorist attack in recent years, it should be recognised that sustainable success requires the combination of all our efforts whether through investigations and prosecutions, or through effective engagement across our societies. This achievement is an encouragement to keep up these efforts and ensure that we remain a step ahead of the (potential) terrorists and also shows that we need the engagement of many relevant players. I am really pleased to see that this handbook specifically addresses one of the most important but, in a counter-terrorism context at least, perhaps least visible groups: community police officers. These officers should be familiar with the complex phenomenon that is terrorism and should not see counter-terrorism as a task for specialists only. On a daily basis and in the normal course of their duty, they might well be the first to be confronted with signs and signals of violent radicalisation. They should consider it a part of their routine job to be on the look-out for signs of terrorist activity, just as they would for mainstream criminality. Counter-terrorism is not an exact science and there is no fixed, clear, logical and unequivocal path to terrorism. It is also, more than other types of crime, a matter of mind and emotions, of convictions and ideologies. And the line between expressing legal and legitimate, albeit extremist and despicable, opinions and terrorist offences, is a fine one to draw. It is, therefore, essential that our community police officers can interpret what they see and hear in their communities and put it into some kind of context, so that they can identify and report activity which is dangerous and suspicious with a proper awareness of the indicators and pointers which make such an identification realistic. Additionally this manual better equips them to play an important role in pacifying possibly tense situations by providing explanations of particular sensitivities. I am sure that the current handbook provides a solid basis to help community police officers draw that line: on the one hand, protect their societies by being more vigilant for signs of terrorist offences and on the other hand, actively contribute to a society where different opinions, ideologies and religions can peacefully co-exist. 5
Introduction by the COPPRA Project Manager, Jean-Pierre Devos, Commissioner, Federal Police Belgium The threat of terrorist attacks remains a burning topic of the day. The thwarted attack on Times Square in New York (2010) and the bomb attacks on the Moscow metro (2010) are still fresh in our minds. Analysis of both terrorist activities shows that the offenders do not come from abroad, but that they are often home-ground terrorists who have gone through a process of radicalisation. Literature offers numerous explanations for the behaviour of would-be terrorists, yet one aspect seems to be generally applicable, namely that every offender goes through some sort of process of radicalisation. Since this process will lead to certain changes in the identity and behaviour of the person concerned, it is of vital importance that these signs be recognised. The aim of project CoPPRa is to increase the awareness of the frontline police officials about this problem. Therefore, the target group are first of all the police officers on the beat, who are tuned in to the neighbourhood, but also colleagues of the intervention and/or investigation services, who can detect certain signs/indications during their work. In order to raise awareness about this topic, project CoPPRa developed a handy field pocket guide, which helps at recognising/detecting these first signs of radicalisation. In addition to this, a handbook for trainers has been developed as well. The idea behind this manual is to provide future instructors with ample information on this topic. Finally, we have looked for good practices of how the police official can proceed, in cooperation with other partners, to tackle the first signs of radicalisation in a neighbourhood. In conclusion, I wish to thank all members of the support committee and the expert group for their ever-present positive attitude and continuous dedication. In spite of the sometimes difficult discussions and of the decisions we had to reach, in the end we were able to deliver useful products. The accomplishment of this project with 10 EU Member States and over 15 different services is a unique realisation, I dare say. I would also like to extend my gratitude to the European Commission, which provided the necessary financial support through the ISec programme. Thanks also to the European Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove and his collaborators, who, from the beginning, have been very positive towards our project and have supported us along the way. And, last but not least, I would like to thank my fellow workers who have helped me make this project a success. 7
Table of content Foreword by European Union Counter Terrorism Coordinator 5 Introduction by the COPPRA Project Manager 7 Table of content 9 Chapter 1: Clarification of Terms 13 1.1. Community policing 13 1.2. Clarification of terms 14 1.2.1. Community Policing 14 1.2.2. Activism 15 1.2.3. Radicalisation 15 1.2.4. Terrorism 16 Chapter 2: Radicalisation 19 2.1. The process of radicalisation 19 2.2. The individual psychological process leading to terrorism by Prof. Moghaddam 21 2.3. Indicators of radicalization 22 2.3.1. Different sets of indicators 22 2.4. Case study on process of radicalisation 23 Chapter 3: Terrorism 27 3.1. Possible indicators related to preparation of a terrorist attack 27 3.2. Pre incident indicators 28 3.2.1 Residence 28 3.2.2. Transport 28 3.2.3. Currency 28 3.2. 4. Forged documents 29 9
3.2.5. Objects 29 3.2.6. Preparation 29 3.3. Post-incident indicator terrorist activity 30 Chapter 4: Manifestations of international terrorism 33 4.1. Traditional Forms of Modern Terrorism 33 4.2. Ideologies of activist and terrorist groups 36 4.3 Recognising logos and symbols 37 4.3.1. Commonly found logo elements from jihadist movements 38 Chapter 5: How to build relations with the local community 41 5.1. Community policing as counter-terrorism 41 5.2. Development of Local Partnerships 50 5.3. Understanding the challenge and its context 51 5. 4. Improving Community engagement 52 Chapter 6: Legal working procedure in each EU country 55 Chapter 7: Group profiles 59 7.1. Nationalism/Separatism 59 7.2. Left Wing 62 7.3. Anarchism 65 7. 4. Right Wing 66 7. 5. Religious motivated 68 7.6. Single issue 79 Chapter 8: Conclusions and recommendations 83 Composition of the Coppra team 90 11
Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1. Why community policing on preventing radicalisation and terrorism? According to the European Union s Strategy for Combating Radicalisation and Recruitment to Terrorism (2005), the threat level must be reduced by disrupting existing terrorist networks and by preventing them from recruiting new members. In this strategy, community policing is seen as a vital tool for the prevention of radicalisation and recruitment of potential violent extremists. Community policing and local partnerships, along with good relationships between the police and the public are key to countering terrorism at a local level as trust and confidence in the police is a prerequisite for community intelligence collection and prevention of radicalisation. Research has demon- 13
1 BROWN,B., Community policing in post-september 11 America: a comment on the concept of community oriented counterterrorism, Police practice and research, 2007, nr. 3, 239 251. 2 SKOGAN, W., The promise of community policing in WEISBURD,D. And BRAGA,A.,(ed.) Police innovation contrasting perspectives, Cambridge University Press, 2006, 27 43. The central premise is that the level of community participation in enhancing safety and social order and in solving communitystrated that positive contact between law enforcement authorities and communities increases public satisfaction and trust. Greater trust in the police results in communities being more willing to cooperate with the police in criminal investigations as well as in crime prevention programmes. The aim of the CoPPRa Handbook is to support front-line police officers in detecting signs of radicalisation at an early stage. This Handbook has two main purposes: To enhance the capacity of front-line police officers and community policing professionals to recognise the indicators that can lead to radicalisation and for community intelligence gathering, in order to prevent the further spread of the violent ideas of radicalisation (= phase of detecting) To enhance the capacity for building relations and partnerships with local communities and use community policing to prevent radicalisation and terrorism. Examples of good practice from across the European Union are contained within this handbook. The significance of community policing in preventing radicalisation is that, as a working philosophy, it builds trust and confidence in the civic governance structures. 1.2. Clarification of Terms For common understanding by both users and readers of this handbook, and to facilitate the translation of this manual into all European Union languages, a clear definition is needed for frequently used terms. The following definitions are those agreed by the CoPPRa project team to avoid confusion in the development of this guidance and are for use only in the context of this manual. 1.2.1. Community policing Policing strategies successful in the past are no longer sufficient today. Intended goals, such as an enhanced sense of safety, security and well-being, cannot be achieved with traditional policing methods and tactics. With regards to terrorism and counter-terrorism the attacks in New York, Madrid and London have led to the review of effective police strategies to stop these phenomena. In contrast to common criminals such as burglars and drug addicts who engage in crimes with little planning or motivation other than financial gain, members of a terrorist group are often disciplined, organised and motivated by strong religious and/ or political beliefs. Therefore, there is reason to believe that front-line police officers can gather sufficient information to intervene in terrorist activities before operations reach a tactical stage. It is not suggested that Community Policing can eliminate all terrorist attacks alone but simply that community intelligence gathering is an essential component of any counter-terrorism programme. Consequently, the use of community-oriented tactics designed to create positive relationships between police officers and the public should be considered as a means of collecting counterterrorist intelligence 1. Community policing however, is not a set of specific programmes. It involves changing decision-making processes and creating new cultures within police departments. It is an organisational strategy that leaves setting priorities and the means of achieving them largely to residents and to the police who serve in their neighbourhoods 2. 14
related crime should be raised as the police cannot complete this task on their own. In order to achieve such partnerships, the police must be better integrated into the community, strengthen their legitimacy through policing by consent and improving their services to the public. They should therefore 3 : Be visible and accessible to the public; Know, and be known by the public; Respond to the communities needs; Listen to their concerns; Engage and mobilise the communities; Be accountable for their activities and the outcome of these activities. Key strategies for the translation of these principles into practice could include the following activities: Creating fixed geographic neighbourhood areas with permanently assigned police officers Introducing visible and easily accessible police officers and police facilities; Restructuring patrol activities to emphasize non-emergency serving; Engaging communities; Introducing a pro-active problemsolving approach; Involving all government agencies and services; Involving all branches of the police. 1.2.2. Activism Activism could be described as a fundamental democratic right, aimed at bringing out social, political, economic and environmental changes. It should not be confused with radicalism. In some cases, activism has nothing to do with protest or confrontation. For example, a vegetarian activist might prefer to try to persuade people to change their behaviour, rather than persuade governments to change laws. In no way our CoPPRa-handbook nor the pocket guide are targeting activism. 1.2.3. Radicalisation The term radical (from the Latin radix meaning root) was used in the late 18 th century for proponents of the Radical Movement. It later became a general term for those favouring or seeking political reforms which include dramatic changes to the social order. To establish a clear definition is not easy because radicalisation is a complicated and multidimensional process reflecting complexity in stages and influential factors. In the handbook Violent radicalisation: recognition of and responses to the phenomenon by professional groups concerned (2008) that was edited under the French EU Presidency, the authors use a narrow definition 4 : Radicalisation might be defined as: 3 ORGANISATION FOR SECU- RITY AND CO-OPERATION IN EUROPE OSCE, Good practices in building police-public partnerships, 2008, 71 p. 4 AUSTRIA, FRANCE, GERMANY, Handbook Violent Radicalisation, 2008 Chapter 1 Introduction Community policing encompasses a variety of philosophical and practical approaches and is still evolving rapidly. The strategies vary depending on the needs and responses of the communities involved; however, certain basic principles and considerations are common to all community policing efforts. The growing willingness to support far-reaching changes in society, which may be aimed to the abolition of the established democratic legal order and which may involve the use of undemocratic methods. A process that leads an individual or a group to accept, support or encourage the use of violence as a political means. 15