Countering Subversion at the Local Level

The National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism has released their 2006 Terrorism Annual. There are some good analyses of terrorist trends, maritime terrorism, and female suicide bombers, but I thought that the most interesting thing was a section on "Subversion and Terrorism." For me, this stood out:

Subversion is far more than just an intelligence problem. Well-trained, professional police attuned to local conditions and capable of building and maintaining strong relationships with the public can play an invaluable role. But if police are to be effective, they will also have to be trained to identify patterns—-to "connect the dots," to use a post-9/11 cliché—-so that subversive activity can be spotted and neutralized. Effective countersubversive policing creates a detailed picture of a community in a way that allows anomalies-—the arrival of outsiders, the influx of large amounts of cash, or the change in leadership of a community group—to be detected. In this respect, countersubversive policing is a form of community policing that identifies emerging threats and works to neutralize them with the aid of local individuals and groups.

There is a local law enforcement dimension to the fight on terrorism.