Abstract
Community policing approaches have been used successfully to prevent crime, reduce the fear of crime, and improve public safety. A raging debate, however, is emerging as to whether this approach can be used with equal effectiveness in the prevention of terrorism. Over the last sixteen years, Kenya has tried several approaches to “the war against terrorism.” However, none of the approaches has succeeded in stamping out terrorism. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to find out ways in which the philosophy of community policing could be modelled to fit a citizen based-counter terrorism strategy. The study established that community policing principles can be used to create sustainable partnerships between law enforcement agencies and residents, thus facilitating the identification of root causes of youth radicalization. Training of police officers on community policing principles and trends in youth radicalization was strongly recommended. Further, police officers should invest more in trust-building initiatives in establishing a joint early warning system with the local communities they serve. The study further recommends an intensive public awareness campaign on the nature, indicators, and symptoms of youth radicalization within Eastleigh and the country at large.
Highlights
In Eastern Africa, radicalization is increasingly gaining international attention
The objective of the study was to identify risk factors that drive youth to radicalization; to establish the typical characteristics, features and behavioural patterns of radicalized youth and related activities; to establish how principles of community policing can assist in the identification of radicalized youth, and to elicit suggestions on how to solve the problem of youth radicalization within Eastleigh area
The findings suggest that both the police and the residents of Eastleigh strongly associate religion and Islam, with radicalization to violent extremism
Summary
In Eastern Africa, radicalization is increasingly gaining international attention. This is evidenced by the rampant occurrence of terrorist activities mainly by youths of Somali origin. The purpose of this study, was to explore the role of community policing in countering radicalization within the Eastleigh area in Nairobi County. The objective of the study was to identify risk factors that drive youth to radicalization; to establish the typical characteristics, features and behavioural patterns of radicalized youth and related activities; to establish how principles of community policing can assist in the identification of radicalized youth, and to elicit suggestions on how to solve the problem of youth radicalization within Eastleigh area
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