Police Officer Experiences with Community Policing and Views on Counterterrorism in Somalia

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines frontline officers’ experiences with community policing and how these experiences shape their attitudes toward different security actors engaged in counterterror activities in a region experiencing protracted conflict (i.e., Kismaayo, Somalia). Relying on path dependency theory and an original and new dataset, the current study finds that officers with experience with the organizational adaptation dimension of community policing are less likely to believe that militarized forces with offensive functions are suited to respond to terrorism, while experience with the community engagement dimension makes officers less likely to believe an armed intelligence force with an informant cultivation mandate is suited for countering terrorism. These findings expand the scholarly understanding of community policing and counterterrorism by focusing on officers’ actual experiences with different dimensions of community policing and how these experiences shape frontline officers’ attitudes in a region dealing with prolonged warfare, an active terrorist threat, and a plurality of forces.