Community Policing ‘Key’ to Preventing Violent Extremism

The World

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill held their first hearing Thursday on the Boston Marathon bombings.

Boston Police Commissioner Ed Davis was among those who testified. He highlighted ways to prevent future attacks – such as reaching out to diverse communities and building relationships before a crisis happens.

Former Homeland Security official Juliette Kayyem agrees that creating a new model of community policing that gains the confidence of all citizens – including immigrants – could be a key to preventing another attack. The new measures, she says, shouldn’t prevent communities from coming together.

“You don’t want an East Germany circa 1980s society. You want people to be able to pray and be together in an open democratic society without everyone pointing fingers at each other,” Kayyem says.

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