Community Policing to Counter Violent Extremism: A Process Evaluation in Los Angeles

Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) conducted an independent research study -- a process evaluation -- of the LAPD’s strategy of using countering violent extremism tailored community policing (CVETCP). A process evaluation examines the course and context of a program so as to understand what is happening, to identify best practices, and to understand the program in its broader context and why it turned out the way it did. The overall conclusion is that adopting a community policing model is a necessary approach to better protect and serve communities at risk for violent radicalization.  Some of those communities are comprised of Muslim immigrants and refugees from countries where the police were feared and citizens learned to turn away. Community policing can humanize officers for these communities and help shift these attitudes.