Conservation Officers: A Force Multiplier for Homeland Security

Abstract

Today's law enforcement officers -both conservation and police -find themselves adapting to an emerging and dynamic threat environment. Policies and practices aimed at the prevention of threats have focused primarily on federal, state, and local police agencies. At a time when terrorists, extremists, and activists have begun to widen their array of attack methods, collaboration across all sectors of law enforcement becomes essential. More specifically, an increased vulnerability to biological threats has not been met by steps to prevent or mitigate these threats. Conservation officers have a unique and integral role to enhance homeland security efforts given their day-to-day operations and interactions with the community, especially rural America. This article will discuss the role of conservation officers as it relates to homeland security -a significant conceptual component to research and practice that has largely been ignored by both academics and professionals. The integration of conservation officers into the proactive information sharing environment will be discussed to strengthen a culture of information sharing as it pertains to an "all-threats, all-hazards" philosophy and to enhance national security awareness. Moreover, this article will challenge the traditional range of threats associated with biological terrorism by providing an illustrative case study.

Intelligence-led policing and forces of organisational change in the USA

“…The key difference between ILP as utilised in the USA versus the UK is a focus on the collection of raw information and proactive information sharing among a variety of law enforcement agencies (Schaible andSheffield 2012, Carter andGore 2013), other government organisations such as public health (Carter and Rip 2013), and the private sector within the US model (Carter and Carter 2009a). The US emphasis is truly on the sharing of information related to possible threats and the creation of actionable intelligence products as a result of this proactive effort which can prevent or mitigate threats.…”

Potential for informal guardianship in community-based wildlife crime prevention: Insights from Vietnam

“…That "offenders" can be the neighbors of informal guardians makes it far more complex for them to intervene. There are social costs to policing one's neighbors that (Carter and Gore 2013) or where ranger motivation and/or capacity is limited (Spira et al 2019) Can supervise and protect potential targets during the course of their routine activities (Felson and Boba 2010) *One actor cannot act both informally and formally at the same time. Conceivably, an off-duty ranger who does not identify herself as such can act as an informal guardian in her community.…”

Social Determinants of Community Policing in Lurambi Sub-County, Kakamega County, Kenya

“…The community members highly relies upon the police officers to help in emergencies and curb disorder. The police officers heavily depend on the community members to assist by reporting crime and share security-related information necessary in solving crime and addressing community concerns (Carter & Gore, 2013). In recent years, the scope of relationships between the police and the community has increased.…”