From Belfast to Bishkek: An International Perspective on Neighbourhood and Community Policing

Abstract

The difficulties and pitfalls involved in transferring different policing methods from one country to another by way of police assistance programmes (PAPs) have been widely accepted for many years. Adopting a ‘one-shoe-fits-all’ approach can result in bewildered audiences, missed opportunities, wasted funding and criticism from the ‘recipients' of the organisations and the ‘experts’ involved. Without proper context setting, well-established methods and procedures from one country can fail spectacularly in another. Despite differences in culture, customs, language, traditions, religion and so forth, the author argues that similarities remain in the area of neighbourhood and community policing wherever it is practised. He further suggests that this area of policing lends itself particularly well to comparable methods being adopted in different settings. Specifically in post-conflict regions, which are the main ‘target’ for PAPs. These programmes are delivered by a plethora of organisations such as European Police Missions, the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Programme and so on. This article aims to examine this style of policing, the roles, skills and training of the officers within it, and common themes and barriers to its implementation. Specific reference is made to three post-conflict regions: Northern Ireland, Kosovo and Kyrgyzstan. An assertion will be made that many of the problems which neighbourhood officers face come not from the community, but from within the police family itself. In doing so, the author draws on the international literature and on his own experiences of policing with the Royal Ulster Constabulary and the Police Service of Northern Ireland, the UN in Kosovo, and ongoing work as a consultant to the OSCE in the area of neighbourhood policing in Kyrgyzstan.