A New Paradigm for the Iraqi Police: Applying Community-oriented Policing to Iraqi Police Development

Publisher Marketing: Policing can be an effective counterinsurgency tool. Police are able to determine the individual needs of each community and address each constituency's concern which in turn enhances the government's legitimacy. The Iraqi Police face the challenge of transforming themselves from an institution that served the state to an institution that serves the people. They have so far failed to achieve that paradigm shift. Commanders in the field that have recently executed the Police Transition mission, as well as experts in the Iraqi Police training process, admit that after years and millions of dollars in training and equipping, their developmental progress lags behind that of the military. Iraqi Police, however, have models of behavior they can rely on that are compatible with this change. Introducing the Community-Oriented Policing (COP) philosophy into their training may provide a reliable model of behavior to help the Iraqi Police accomplish this transformation. Their ability to change may have a direct impact on the legitimacy and success of the Government of Iraq (GOI). The success of the GOI may directly impact the United State's National Strategic Objectives. COP is a philosophy with new paradigm. It is a philosophy that provides a complete cohesive organizational plan for modifying police work to achieve effective crime prevention. COP is a philosophy, not a program. It requires the police and the community to cooperate in identifying problems, then work together to solve them. In order for the COP to work, everyone in the police organization must commit to the philosophy. Police officers have to motivate the community to participate in police auxiliary activities. Decentralization and flatter organizations are a necessity. Institutions cannot create a specialized COP unit. The institution has to change. The monograph first lays out how COP is compatible with COIN theories and doctrine. The monograph explores the evolution of policing as a means of social control and crime prevention in Western societies. The COP philosophy emerged as an effective crime prevention methodology. The monograph defines COP and explains its different components. It explores non Western experiences with social control and crime prevention as micro-histories in India, Nigeria, and Israel. A comparison model displays common social control mechanisms within all three countries. The monograph also addresses how time has played a factor in the evolution of crime prevention and the adoption of COP to balance the crime prevention responsibilities between the government and communities in India, Nigeria, and Israel. It also discusses conditions that prevented a similar evolution in Iraq. The monograph closes with a conclusion applicable to the situation in Iraq and offers recommendations for COP implementation.