Community Engagement as a Guide to Deepening the Partnership with Muslims in Los Angeles

Overview

Since the 9/11 attacks, Muslim communities throughout the United States and the world have found themselves under the glare of the media spotlight. Islam and terrorism have become all but synonymous in the eyes of some – much to the chagrin of the millions of Muslims who practice Islam peacefully and devotedly.

Even as many aspects of Muslim culture have been explored and studied, an odd thing has happened: Muslim communities have been lumped together, in the eyes of many, as a monolithic presence in American society. In fact, that could not be further from the truth. Each community of Muslims has its own story - its own linguistic, cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic history.

Unfortunately, that rich, holistic picture of these communities has not yet been captured in a scientific way in Los Angeles. As Muslim communities have struggled to be understood, American law enforcement – including the Los Angeles Police Department – has struggled to understand. Departments have had no road maps to use as they attempt to craft outreach strategies to communities that they know little about.

The fundamental question is this: How do you attempt to have positive interactions with Muslims in Los Angeles when you don’t know where they are or what is important to them? That is the question that this project seeks to answer.

It is our hope that we can learn about the Muslims in Los Angeles so that we can approach them with a respectful understanding of their histories and what they hold dear. Only then will we truly take a step toward 21st Century policing and away from a time when we did not make that extra effort to learn about the people we were trying to build partnerships with.

Critical to the success of this enterprise will be the partners who take these steps at our side. This project will not be done in a law enforcement vacuum. The LAPD will make every effort to listen to and include feedback from a range of sources – not the least of which will be the Muslim communities.

Only as partners will we be able to tell and understand the stories of the Muslim communities of Los Angeles.  Only as partners will we be able to identify and overcome the challenges within those communities.

-- Deputy Chief Michael P. Downing
http://hsgac.senate.gov/_files/103007Downing.pdf

Comments

[A concerned cop]

With all due respect sir, you sound a bit like Neville Chamberlin..........and look where it got him! You mention that we need to take steps toward entering the 21st century with our policing approaches. Fine and good; however, how do you do this and apply it to our understanding of Muslims when that group commits 95+% of the world’s terrorist acts in the name of Allah, and they embrace social policies that have barely cleared the iron age!

So why have I not heard anything of meaning from those millions of good Muslims denouncing, in the most vocal and public way, the atrocities committed by their Muslim brothers and sisters!

We live in the United States of America, the land of E Pluribus Unum. One out of many. In a large part, that is what makes our country great.

I’m very clear and quite comfortable with Americans and our American Values. I’m not to sure that I can say the same for our Muslim brothers and sisters.

[Mark Zecca]

I think this idea of mapping the Muslim community is wrong ..big time. Just because Muslims may have diiferent voices regarding Mideast politics should not make them a target of suspicion.Evegelical Christians and and militant Jews in this city have views I believe are threat to national security. With LAPD's logic maybe we should map their neighborhoods as well.Illegal Mexicans are a threat as well to national security. Maybe they will rise up and annex southern California to Mexico. We should map their neighborhoods as well. Try doing it I am sure you will hear a cry so loud that every leader who proposed this insane strategy will lose their job.This is racist and to go down this path is ridiculous and as the lawsuits mount against the department and city this plan will be found to be an affront to civil liberties against our own citizens.

[Wade Schuette, MBA, MPH]

I'm watching this story unfold from Michigan, and struck by the fact that the LA Times story Nov 9th "LAPD to build data on Muslim Areas" had over 250 comments, and this blog had two. I think you missed a chance to link to this site with a comment there.

The November 2007 Government Health IT publication has a great piece by David Raths titled "Crisis Communications 2.0", which highlights the web 2.0 work that the LA Fire Department is doing on lafd.org/blog. It goes into length on what Brian Humphrey and Ron Myers are doing at the LAFD to increase communications effectiveness with the public.

The key paragraph there: "Some might make the mistake of thinking these Web 2.0 tools will allow us to get our message out louder and to more people", Humphrey said. "I think that is wrong. What they enhance is the ability to listen."

I think they've hit the nail on the head. Unless "communication" is a two-way street, with both sides working hard to hear what the other actually means instead of what they think is meant, it quickly shuts down because of feedback effects.

That principle says that, if you want Muslim communities to hear your message, you need be be sure first that you are taking the initiative in trying to hear their points. Then you can actually get the feedback loops flowing and get the synchronization you're after.

[Rena]

Many times we hear from upstanding members of the Muslim community voice their frustration and resentment at being associated with certain Islamic radical extremist groups, such as Al-Qaeda, who promote extreme violence, hatred and massacres-when in reality, they have, nor want nothing to do with these terrorist groups they feel have cast a dark cloud over their religion and their faith. Many of them, including youth and families, have been at times harrassed and made victims of hate crimes by others, which have included verbal abuse, vandalism and even physical violence, when they are just trying to co-exist peacefully within their communities. The creation of this stigma in current society has not been formed by law enforcement or the LAPD-but by the statements made by self-proclaimed terrorists , as they send and promote threat-laced messages to the American public, broadcast by the media,regarding their intentions to attack, while at the same time professing to be "guided" by their Muslim faith.Although just becuse someone happens to be of Muslim faith, does not necessarily or automatically make them a terrorist, associated with terrorism or are to blame for the results of the terrorists' threats or actions-it has been difficult for some members of society to discern, or make the distinction, between the differences, and based on that have drawn their own conclusions and acted accordingly. By the same token-we don't want another 9/11. Certian self-proclaimed Islamic terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, have made it very clear to us via posting of video messages to America through the Internet, and through intelligence information gathered by authorities, that they have no intention of of ceasing to continue to plan to attack us and cause mayhem and major loss of life to the United States. There are terrorist cells believed to be active in different parts of America-including Los Angeles, planning to attack, and it has been no secret that that these have always been the specific individuals which law enforcement agencies have sought to identify and apprehend-and rightly so, in their efforts to protect our communitites and the country-through attempts to foil any evil-intended plots aimed at causing harm or death to us. Had the individuals responsible for the September 11, 2024 terrorist attacks, have been identified and apprehended before they were able to complete their evil mission on that day-maybe the Twin Towers would still be erect, and all those who lost their lives on that day would still be alive. Having the goal to protect and clear the innocent and expose the dangerous and corrupt-is not an unreasonable goal for the sake of the public's safety. Misguided, deluded and twisted beliefs-lead to misguided, deluded and twisted actions, regardless of one's religion. No one wants to be seen as a terrorist if they're not, which is why it's so important to take advantage of the opportunity to be able to step up to the plate and speak out on behalf of one's true intentions, to clear the air and set the record straight to the community and society once and for all. Having INTERACTIVE dialogue, whether in Interfaith groups, or community forums, can go a long way towards refuting any misconceptions that exist regarding these issues. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step..."

[ron]

I think this nothing more then profiling. Why don't collect data on how many jews live in one place or catholics. So what now if you are a certain religion please check in??? If I was Muslim and you asked me something I would tell to go play on 10 fwy @5pm putting it mildly.

[Larry]

This is a great speech! So basically, during World War II, we didn't really place Japanese-Americans in concentration camps. We were merely breaking down the boundaries that divide our different cultures and creating a better understanding of their way of life. That should make them feel so much better now and we all now have a better understanding... Thanks for the clarification!

[Jim Kabay]

This is all part of Chief Bratton's plan to create the premier Local Law Enforcement Counter Terrorism unit in the nation. He was able to sell his Compstat/Community policing paradigm during his first term now it's Muslim Mapping.

This 'mapping' already exists for Gangs and other criminal elements in the City. This new Mapping will be the first outside of the criminal realm, which is why We should be concerned.

We can argue the necessity of this new procedure, but more importantly we should be asking whether a local law enforcement agency is qualified enough to undertake such a delicate mission without screwing things up.

Intelligence work is part of law enforcement, but it is criminal intelligence. This is very different from the Intelligence work undertaken by groups such as the CIA, NSA and England's MI5.

Are these LAPD officers tasked to 'map' the Muslim communities of L.A. qualified? or are these officers your run of the mill high school grads or recipients of Criminal Justice degrees from the University of Phoenix? Are these your basic 20 and a pension coppers indoctrinated by the Chief's new model of policing in which the expectations to produce 'numbers' takes priority over everything?

The 'numbers' game, showing citizens dots disappear and move around the city map is totally different from the work of human intelligence gathering. Are these new intelligence officers with backgrounds in Anthropology, Foreign Affairs, International Politics? Have they had extensive travel experience in the Middle East, Asia, or Africa? Do they speak Arabic, Farsi, Russian, Urdu?

More importantly can they establish rapport with citizens to gain this much needed information? or will they be like warthogs inside an antique porcelain shop?

This Muslim mapping needs to be approached very delicately or else you'll accomplish the exact opposite of your intentions, which most call BLOWBACK.

[Rena]

It is interesting to observe that a lot of mostly non-Musim people have already jumped to the conclusion that this plan by the LAPD is racial or religious profiling, when there is currently no evidence that this is really the case. The ACLU has already come out swinging from the "get go", accusing the LAPD of profiling, before the forums have even taken place. Understandably, the word "mapping" may send out unclear or confusing connotations to some-and maybe it should be clarified more, but aiming to do community outreach with the intent of forming positive community partnership/bonds between police and members of the community can be a good thing. There have been many community forums created for those who have chosen to participate, make comments or seek clarification to resolve issues. There have been LAPD-sponsored forums such as the African/American, LGBT, and also Hispanic community forums, with issues being addressed by concerned community members, who have appreciated the opportunity to be given a forum for their voices. It's not always neccessary to be categorized by race or religious faith, but finding the common denominator we all share-which is our humanity, and even being able to transcend our diversities or differences in race or religion by uniting through and connecting from the level of this humanity, through dialogue and two-way communication, has been proven throughout history to be a key element in creating more harmonious aspects in societies and for moving forward. Maybe now is the right time for the Muslim communities in Los Angeles to become more pro-actively involved in this...

[Dr. Guy Markham]

I had hoped that external pressures i.e. ACLU has forced a needed plan
to insure safety for all has been derailed. It is scary when none of the
Muslim leaders have publicly come out to neither denounce the radical
element nor offer to report any suspicious activity to the authorities.
I will show my age as I was a big fan of the late Chief William Parker!
Thanks to all the LAPD for their untiring effort "to protect and serve"
Best, Dr.. Guy Markham

[Bob Davis]

I don't know if this idea is good or bad. But if it's introduced like the new ELEMENTORING, I'm sure it will not result in a productive outcome.